On election day, voters in British Columbia face an atmospheric river

Voters along British Columbia’s south coast who have not yet cast their ballots will face heavy rain and strong winds on Election Day due to an emerging atmospheric river weather system.

Environment Canada says the weather system will bring persistent heavy rain to the Vancouver metropolitan area, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.

The agency says strong winds with gusts of up to 80 kilometers per hour will also occur in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver on Saturday – the day thousands will go to the polls across British Columbia.

Wednesday was the last day for early voting, which began on October 10th.

More than 180,000 voters cast their ballots on Tuesday, the most ever on a primary day in British Columbia, surpassing the record of more than 170,000 votes set just days earlier on October 10.

According to Environment Canada, voters in the atmospheric river area can expect around 70 millimeters of rainfall generally and up to 100 millimeters along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island can expect up to 200 millimeters of rainfall over the weekend.

An atmospheric river system caused severe flooding and landslides in November 2021, temporarily disrupting most rail services between the Port of Vancouver and the rest of Canada while flooding communities in the Fraser Valley and interior British Columbia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.