A second windstorm touched down in Metro Vancouver Tuesday evening, just a day after strong winds knocked out power and caused travel delays in the region.
Environment Canada has issued wind and rainfall warnings for the area, as well as other parts of the province's South Coast.
In Metro Vancouver, wind warnings are in place for the City of Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Langley, Richmond, Delta and the North Shore.
There are also wind warnings in place in Greater Victoria, Howe Sound and the southern Gulf Island.
Strong winds cause damage or toss loose objects, the weather agency said. The cold front is expected to pass over the coast in the evening, with winds picking up ahead of the weather system.
Strong southeasterly winds of 70 km/h with gusts up to 90 km/h are forecast in exposed coastal areas and the southern section of Howe Sound, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald. The winds will ease overnight.
At the same time, parts of the province fall under Environment Canada rainfall warnings.
“It is storm season,” MacDonald said. “It’s mid-November and this is one of the wettest months of the year, so it’s pretty typical we see these back-to-back storms like we’re currently seeing.”
As much as 50 millimetres of rain is expected by Wednesday morning in the northern parts of Metro Vancouver, the Howe Sound area and eastern Vancouver Island, with localized flooding possible in low-lying areas.
In Metro Vancouver, warning applies to the Coquitlam and Maple Ridge areas, as well as the North Shore. On Vancouver Island, the warning applies to the stretch between Nanoose Bay and Fanny Bay, with the highest rainfall predicted between Qualicum Beach and Fanny Bay.
Residents can help avoid flooding around their homes by clearing leaves from nearby catch basins and gutters.
The City of Vancouver began its annual leaf clearing protocol on Wednesday.
Residents can find out if and when their street is up for clearing using an interactive map on the city’s website.
Crews are also putting up signs before showing up to do the work. Those who don’t move their cars by 7 a.m. on the day leaf collection is scheduled to take place could have their vehicle towed and face a $100 fine.
A similar storm system passed over the area Monday, knocking trees into power lines and cancelling ferries. The winds were brought in by an intense Pacific low pressure system that moved inland starting in the morning.
With winds as strong as 90 km/h in some areas, BC Ferries made the decision to cancel several sailings for safety reasons.
BC Hydro had extra crews on standby during the storm in case of outages, and about two dozen were reported in affected areas during the day.
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Penny Daflos
