Rare thunderstorm with lightning strikes wows southern B.C., causing havoc at Vancouver airport
A rare and intense thunderstorm caused widespread power outages and significant travel disruptions at Vancouver International Airport. Over 1,800 lightning strikes were recorded in the Lower Mainland, leaving many passengers stranded.
Why it matters
The event highlights the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent.
"This was quite the system, hundreds of cloud to ground strikes ... mainly in Vancouver/Richmond," CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe said.
Wagstaffe said the centre of a low-pressure system pushed onshore near Richmond after travelling from the equator, loaded with moisture.
A preliminary count from Environment Canada reported more than 1,800 incidences of lightning over the Lower Mainland on Saturday night and Sunday morning, while the B.C. Wildfire Service said it recorded more than 7,000 strikes provincewide.
B.C. Hydro reported numerous outages overnight. As of Sunday morning, over 3,800 customers were without power in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast regions.
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