Winter storms bring high wind, heavy snow, travel woes to parts of B.C.

Winds are expected to gust up to 100 km/h on Tuesday along some parts of southwestern British Columbia as winter storms trigger ferry cancellations, power outages and avalanche warnings.

B.C. Ferries has cancelled the 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. PT sailings between Tsawwassen on the mainland and Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island due to expected high winds and waves in the Salish Sea.

So far there are no cancellations on routes connecting Nanaimo with Metro Vancouver.

Wind warnings are in place for west Vancouver Island, Greater Victoria and the Southern Gulf Islands. Environment Canada has also issued a special weather statement for higher than usual ocean levels for shorelines along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, including Sooke and Victoria, with similar conditions expected near Boundary Bay in Metro Vancouver.

Ocean levels exceeding the highest astronomical tide are expected and could cause some coastal flooding, the forecaster said.

"In the wake of some fairly wintry weather that we had around the South Coast yesterday, we're left with a low that's going to be crossing the Strait of Georgia this morning and moving inland this afternoon, and with that we are going to see some winds associated, picking up quite strong," said Environment Canada meteorologist Ross MacDonald.

Power outages

Power outages were affecting more than 10,000 B.C. Hydro customers on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands as of 7:30 a.m. PT, with the largest outages in the Qualicum Beach area, the Saanich Peninsula, Salt Spring Island and Greater Victoria's western communities.

Nearly 3,000 additional customers were without power Tuesday morning in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast.

Heavy snow, avalanche warning

Inland, snowfall that began on Monday is making travel difficult on roads and highways.

Snowfall and winter storm warnings are still in place for much of the Interior, with 20-30 centimetres of snow expected for the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt on Tuesday.

Story continues

A highway camera shows snow accumulation at Rogers Pass on Highway 1 early Tuesday. (Ministry of Transportation)

Snow is also piling up on Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton and on Highway 1 between Eagle Pass and Rogers Pass. Heavy snow is also expected in the Cariboo, Okanagan, Shuswap, North and West Columbia, and the Prince George area, according to Environment Canada.

Meanwhile, Avalanche Canada is warning that "very dangerous avalanche conditions" exist at higher elevations in several areas across southwestern B.C.

"Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended," it said on its website for areas including backcountry sites around Whistler and the Fraser Valley.