Atmospheric river shatters rainfall records across B.C.'s South Coast

The atmospheric river event that brought heavy downpours and flooding to B.C.’s South Coast over the weekend has come to an end, but not before smashing a number of records.

As of Sunday evening, rainfall records fell in 12 communities that day, according to data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The daily precipitation record in West Vancouver set Sunday was a whopping 134.6 millimetres, nearly quadruple the city’s old record of 34.8 millimetres recorded a half-century ago, in 1970.

Even longer-standing records fell Sunday, including in Victoria (40.6), Agassiz (89.1), Chilliwack (89.1), Langley (117.6), White Rock (77), Pitt Meadows (117.6) and Vancouver (67.1), which all saw their wettest Oct. 20 since 1956.

Hope broke a record from 1934, getting 71.7 millimetres of rain Sunday. Squamish and Nakusp felled more recent records, from 2000 and 2017, respectively.

Rainfall totals over the weekend in Metro Vancouver reached as high as 256 millimetres in Coquitlam, according to the federal weather agency. West Vancouver was not far behind at 203 millimetres.

On Vancouver Island, Kennedy Lake received the most rain—318 millimetres—while Tofino was drenched with 218 millimetres.

Heading into the week, all rainfall warnings have been lifted in the province, and flood warnings have been downgraded to flood watches.

The cleanup effort continues, however, in neighbourhoods like Deep Cove in North Vancouver, where six properties were ordered to evacuate Sunday night due to flooding.

A home was also destroyed by a mudslide in Coquitlam, and the search for its owner was ongoing Sunday.