North and West Vancouver escaped largely unscathed from an overnight windstorm that left tens of thousands without power in other parts of the Lower Mainland.
High winds hit the South Coast beginning early Tuesday morning, forcing the cancellation of two early B.C. Ferry crossings between Tsawwassen and Duke Point on Vancouver Island, and cutting electrical service to close to 100,000 homes. Heavy wind and rain and the resulting fallen trees also temporarily disrupted service on the SkyTrain and West Coast Express.
Most of the damage was concentrated south of Vancouver, however, with South Surrey especially hard hit.
On the North Shore, just 500 homes lost power in North Vancouver's Riverside neighbourhood when a toppled tree downed a line on Mount Seymour Parkway. District of North Vancouver firefighters dealt with just one other call in Deep Cove, when another fallen tree forced a temporary road closure.
The effects of the storm were unusually light, said assistant fire chief Steve Feenstra.
"It knocked all the leaves off the trees, I guess," he said. "Everybody gets a better view now."
Ferry crossings from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo were suspended early Monday morning due to high winds in the strait, but service continued uninterrupted through Tuesday morning's storm.
The unpleasant weather came with a silver lining for the North Shore's ski resorts, all of which received a healthy helping of fresh snow. Cypress Mountain saw an especially heavy snowfall of 38 centimetres over 24 hours, while Grouse Mountain received seven cm and Mount Seymour 17 cm.
Environment Canada is calling for rain and cloud at low elevations for the remainder of the week.
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