BC Hydro says several thousand customers on Vancouver Island and across the south coast are in the dark this morning as a powerful wind, rain and snow storm hammered the region overnight.

Most wind warnings have now been dropped but overnight gusts topped 100-kilometres per hour over sections of the southern Gulf Islands and areas from Victoria north to Sechelt, Powell River and Comox were also hit hard.

Winter-like temperatures also dropped the freezing level to about 400 metres overnight, and as much as 15 centimetres of snow is expected on Highway 99 to Whistler and on many of the mountain passes between the south coast and southern Interior.

Snowfall warnings are posted in the Shuswap, Columbia, Kootenay and Boundary regions, with Environment Canada saying up to 40 centimetres could come down, especially on Interior mountain passes, by tomorrow.

The whipping winds forced the cancellation of several BC Ferries, and the service advised passengers to check current conditions online before heading to catch a ferry.