Powerful windstorm leaves 300 000 without power in Lower Mainland, British Columbia
A powerful windstorm left over 120 000 customers, an estimated 300 000 people, without power on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, after winds of up to 90 km/h (56 mph) hit parts of the Lower Mainland.
BC Hydro operatives repairing power lines in British Columbia on the morning of December 17, 2025, due to major windstorm that struck the lower Mainland. Credit: BC Hydro
A powerful windstorm struck British Columbia on December 17 with winds of 80 – 90 km/h (50 – 56 mph), downing trees and power lines across the Lower Mainland region.
Around 120 000 BC Hydro customers were without power across the affected areas as of 06:00 local time (LT) on December 17.
Some 18 400 customers were without power in Surrey, 11 200 in Vancouver, and 12 500 in Port Coquitlam. Burnaby reported 11 700 outages, while Maple Ridge reported 11 200, and North Vancouver reported 10 000.
A special weather statement from Environment Canada covered the Lower Mainland, warning of strong winds with gusts of up to 80 km/h (50 mph) on Wednesday morning. In the central and eastern parts of the Fraser Valley, including Chilliwack and Hope, gusts were expected to reach up to 100 km/h (62 mph).
All schools in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows are closed on Wednesday as most school buildings are without power, according to the school board, CBC reported.
“The storm brought down trees and debris onto BC Hydro’s electrical infrastructure, damaging power lines, poles, and other equipment. All available crews and contractors are being mobilized, and restoration efforts will continue throughout the day and into the night,” said BC Hydro.
The same system left more than 1.5 million people without power across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, where damaging winds, heavy precipitation, and winter weather disrupted infrastructure and transportation on December 16–17.
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules.