'Bomb cyclone' brings severe wind warnings to Vancouver Island
Most likely you weren’t tracking Typhoon Namtheun while it was churning in the western Pacific Ocean throughout the second week of October.
After all, that was happening hundreds of kilometres away and didn’t impact our days. It’s sure going to impact us now.
The remnants of this typhoon have been lingering off the coast and waiting to make a move. That move is being made and will deliver quite the punch for many parts of the West Coast as it develops into a powerful low-pressure system.
This rapidly intensifying low is a bomb cyclone.
You may be asking, what’s that? A bomb cyclone is a low-pressure system that drops its pressure 24 millibars or more in 24 hours or less. This particular system could double that pressure drop, which makes it a powerful and intense storm system.
Conditions will ramp up starting early Thursday in the overnight period.
Wind warnings have been issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada running through the day Thursday. North Vancouver Island and the southern region of the Central Coast should prepare for southeast winds steady in the 80-90 km/h range and gusting up to 110 km/h.
The west coast of the island, including Tofino, Long Beach and Ucluelet, will deal with steady southeast winds at 70-80 km/h and gusting to 100 km/h.
On the east coast, from Courtenay to Campbell River, southeast winds of 70 km/h are expected Thursday afternoon and overnight.
Obviously with the intense wind, a high surf is expected off Vancouver Island.
At the moment no high-surf warnings have been issued but that may change. The most intense winds are expected midday Thursday and will ease Thursday evening. High winds can toss loose objects and debris as well as topple large trees and power lines.
Along with all the wind will come rain.
If you were expecting a sunny and dry end to October, get ready to be disappointed. This system will be the lead for a steady parade of moisture over the next seven to 10 days.
The biggest rainfall totals can be expected on the island's west coast, inland and northeast regions. The potential for rainfall in excess of 100 millimetres is high with a consistent range of 60-90 millimetres expected from Thursday through Sunday.
So if you’re looking to lay blame somewhere you could shake your fist at Typhoon Namtheun or you could take a different approach and live by the words of Russian-American novelist and poet Vladimir Nabokov, “Do not be angry with the rain, it simply does not know how to fall upwards.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.