VANCOUVER — Hurricane-force winds of more than 120 km/h are hitting parts of the British Columbia coast as a “bomb cyclone” develops off Vancouver Island.
Environment Canada has issued more than 50 warnings, advisories and alerts related to the storm, covering most of Vancouver Island and other coastal areas and stretching deep into the Interior.
The weather agency says the worst of the storm is expected overnight when winds in the central and north coast could peak at 120 km/h, though the remote Sartine Island was already seeing winds exceeding 130 km/h Tuesday afternoon.
But it says risks, including coastal flooding, power outages and fallen trees, could continue long into Wednesday.
Meteorologist Cindy Day says there’s nothing alarmist about Environment Canada calling the system a “bomb cyclone,” which is a non-tropical storm caused by a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure at its centre.
Day says that when used appropriately, such scientific language is necessary and can help people better prepare for the impact of extreme weather events.
She said the term “bomb cyclone” had been used by scientists for decades to describe “a low-pressure system that is undergoing explosive cyclogenesis,” or the creation of cyclonic air circulation.
Day said terms like “bomb cyclone” and “atmospheric river” could help paint a picture that allowed people to better understand and prepare for various weather systems.
In British Columbia, an atmospheric river originating near Hawaii has long been known as a “pineapple express.”
“So, an atmospheric river — right away, people start to think, ‘OK, it’s a narrow band of moving water,'” Day said.
“It does give you the sense that this is going to be a steady event and that there’s not going to be time for the ground to absorb the rain. It’ll continue to rain and eventually cause flooding because of that concentrated rainfall.”
In British Columbia, the government called for the creation of a scale to rank the power of atmospheric river events in 2021, in the wake of a devastating system that brought widespread flooding and shut down the Trans-Canada Highway and other key roads.
But Environment Canada said the next year that implementing such a scale for public warnings was premature.
Day noted that she had received “a lot of grief” for using the term “bomb” in relation to meteorological phenomena, with some accusing her of trying to sensationalize weather events.
“I really believe that if they’re used in the proper context, that they’re not alarmist,” she said.