'Quite the system': Rare thunderstorm wows southern B.C., causing havoc at Vancouver airport

Rare thunderstorm with lightning strikes wows southern B.C., causing havoc at Vancouver airport

'This was quite the system,' says CBC meteorologist

Lightning strikes lit up the skies across B.C.'s South Coast overnight in a rare display as a severe thunderstorm passed over the region, snarling traffic at Vancouver International Airport and causing flight issues in the process.

"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.

The storm created havoc at Vancouver International Airport (YVR), causing multiple overnight delays and cancellations.

From 9 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. PT on Sunday, "flights could not depart YVR and many arriving flights were unable to taxi to the gate once landed, as it is unsafe to operate when there is lightning in the area," the airport said in a statement.

It said some flights are also being impacted Sunday as the airport works with airlines to get back to normal operations.

Travel advisory warns of possible road closures

Videos posted to social media also appeared to show significant flooding in parts of the airport.

YVR's website showed multiple delays and cancellations Sunday. People are urged to check their flights before going to the terminal.

The storm system also triggered a high streamflow advisory for the Central Interior, including the Pemberton area and its upstream watersheds, the Chilcotin River, the Bridge River and the Cariboo River.

The B.C. River Forecast Centre said it expected 20 to 25 millimetres of precipitation from the storm, with 30 to 60 millimetres falling in areas of the Cariboo to the Yellowhead region.

A travel advisory issued for most of the stretch of Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet due to heavy rains near Pemberton also warned that the road could close on short notice.

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.

More stories from Northern B.C.

More stories from Vancouver Island

More stories from Vancouver-South Coast

More stories from the B.C. Interior