Strong winds cause power outages, ferry troubles for southern B.C.

Strong winds blasted the South Coast of B.C.overnight leaving more than 9,000 customers without power at the height of the storm.

The wind caused such rough seas that one ferry was unable to dock in Tsawwassen overnight, trapping 21 passengers on board for seven hours.

The storm littered roads with debris, sent trees into power lines and buffeted cars and exposed bridges this morning in Vancouver. 

Overnight gusts topped 100 km/h over sections of the Southern Gulf Islands.

At the height of outages, BC Hydro's website reported 4,500 island customers and 4,600 Lower Mainland customers without power.

Those numbers were reduced to less than 7,000 total by 6 a.m. PT.

Winds and adverse weather also caused delays and cancelled ferry trips.

Snowfall warnings

Meanwhile other parts of the province are facing the first serious snowfall warnings for later today and overnight into Friday.

There is a special warning for the Sea to Sky Highway between Squamish and Whistler where up to 20 centimetres of snow is expected on Thursday.

"Travellers are advised of the potential for changing weather that could result in hazardous driving conditions and should exercise due caution," says Environment Canada.

• First significant snowfall of the year expected for parts of southwest B.C.

Environment Canada also issued a special weather statement for the Coquihalla Highway, Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton and the Okanagan Connector (Highway 97C) from Merritt to Kelowna.

The weather system is forecast to hit the South Coast on Thursday and then move east, dumping up to 40 cm of snow across parts of the southern Interior by Friday morning.