Parts of B.C. remain under flood watch as atmospheric river makes landfall

Parts of southwestern British Columbia remain under a rainfall warning as a potent atmospheric river made landfall along the province's coast Monday, bringing ample rain and high winds while disrupting roads and utilities.

Some weather warnings remain up Tuesday, including for the northern coast, where up to 60 millimetres of rain is expected.

B.C.'s River Forecast Centre also says the Metro Vancouver, South Coast and Lower Fraser regions remain under a flood watch, meaning rivers and stream levels continue to rise as a wave of warmer air melts snow and increases runoff.

Rainfall warnings have been lifted for the Fraser Valley and the Fraser Canyon.

WATCH | Heavy rain, king tide soak B.C. coast: 

Atmospheric river hits B.C’s South Coast

12 months ago

Duration 2:16

As an atmospheric river descends on B.C.'s South Coast, it’s made for slow and wet commutes across the region. And as Sohrab Sandhu reports, strong winds and high tides are making the effects of the rain more drastic.

Environment Canada says the weather system brought as much as 132 millimetres of rain in the past 24 hours. The report came from Kennedy Lake on Vancouver Island.

Port Mellon on the Sunshine Coast recorded 102 millimetres of rain, while Mission, Porteau Cove and Pitt Meadows were doused by 97, 91 and 90 millimetres, respectively.

Strong winds also pummelled the B.C. coast Monday, with gusts reaching 150 km/h at Sartine Island near the northern tip of Vancouver Island and 115 km/h at Sandspit in Haida Gwaii.

Highway disruptions

Pooling water caused disruption on several major roadways in southwestern B.C. 

Highway 99 in Richmond, Highway 7B in Port Coquitlam and Highway 1 in Surrey all saw delays from minor flooding on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

A stretch of Highway 1 in the Fraser Canyon south of Lytton reopened Tuesday after the provincial Ministry of Transportation's geotechnical experts earlier recommended a precautionary closure due to the risk of slope instability triggered by heavy rain falling on wildfire-affected ground.

Environment Canada is also warning of continued winter storm conditions along Highway 1 from Eagle Pass to Rogers Pass and in Yoho National Park in southeastern B.C.

A rainfall warning also remains in place for the Manning-Skagit Valley, Inland North Coast and Elk Valley areas, with wind warnings in place on Highway 3 from Paulson Summit to Kootenay Pass.

Meanwhile, Environment Canada is warning motorists on the Okanagan Connector from Merritt to Kelowna to watch for freezing rain as the precipitation moves into higher areas.

River levels expected to rise

B.C. Hydro data shows a small number of residents in Greater Victoria, Coquitlam and Texada Island lost power due to downed trees across power lines.  

A number of other outages in southwestern B.C. are still under investigation, the utility says.

A high streamflow advisory also remains in place for Vancouver Island and the Kootenays, which indicates that river levels are rising or expected to rise.