Metro Vancouver flood watch ends as storm fades
Any defence was better than no defence against the rains Monday.
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Updated: November 17, 2009 10:33 AM
The first big storm of the season has passed and a flood watch issued Saturday for parts of Metro Vancouver has also ended.
"Rainfall eased considerably or ended overnight," according to B.C.'s River Forecast Centre. "No rivers in the Howe Sound or Metro Vancouver are at
levels of concern."
The subtropical storm wasn't a true pineapple express because it didn't originate as far south in the Pacific as Hawaii.
Nor did it hit the Lower Mainland as hard as had been forecast or as other similar storms have in the past.
Rainfall for the storm from Saturday to Tuesday ranged from a low of 46.4 millimetres that fell on White Rock to between 80 and 90 millimetres on the North Shore.
Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist said it was a "very vigorous" system with lots of moisture, but nothing extraordinary.
"It was a pretty normal fall-type storm," he said.
A storm system of this size or bigger typically hits southern B.C. at least two or three times each year between November and January.
Rainfall was much heavier in Squamish, where nearly 180 millimetres fell, and even more intense on sections of Vancouver Island, where several rivers topped their banks.
B.C. Hydro crews scrambled to restore power to blacked out parts of the Lower Mainland on Monday and Tuesday after the storm lashed the region with high winds.
More than 20,000 Lower Mainland customers were without power as of early Monday morning, but most were back on line by noon.
"Langley, Surrey, Abbotsford and even Coquitlam were pretty hard hit," said Hydro spokesman Dag Sharman. "We had extra crews on so we were able to restore power pretty quickly."
He notes more stormy weather is expected and advises residents to ensure they have an emergency kit, provisions to last 72 hours and a plan of what to do if power fails.
"There's a good chance we could run into more strong winds during the week," he noted.
