Wind gusts to 90 km/h forecast for B.C. Interior Friday

Environment Canada has issued a wind warning for the Chilcotin and special weather statements for the Cariboo, Prince George, 100 Mile House and South Thompson, with strong gusts expected through Friday and a potentially stronger storm to follow on Saturday evening.

The warning for the Chilcotin calls for southerly gusts of up to 90 km/h on Friday afternoon, mainly near Alexis Creek and Dog Creek and on Highway 20 between Williams Lake and Puntzi Mountain. Winds shift to the southwest Friday evening with local gusts to 80 km/h, and should ease before midnight.

Elsewhere in the Interior, a prolonged period of southeast winds with gusts of 60 to 70 km/h is expected to pick up this evening and peak by Friday morning. An incoming cold front is then forecast to bring a strong push of southwest winds, with gusts possibly up to 90 km/h between Quesnel and Prince George. In the South Thompson, winds peak Friday afternoon, with the strongest expected near Cache Creek. The statement includes Highway 97 through the 100 Mile House area.

Local utility outages are possible, parks and forests may sustain damage, and high-sided vehicles will be pushed around by the wind, the weather office said. It advises people to secure loose objects.

On the coast, a wind warning remained in effect today for Haida Gwaii and exposed North and Central Coast sections, where winds of 90 km/h with gusts to 120 km/h were forecast before easing this evening. Reports of severe weather can be sent to [email protected] or posted with #BCStorm. Current alerts are on the Environment Canada website.

Rain is also forecast for the south coast; see our report on the earlier storm on the north coast.

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