Hurricane-force winds of up to 159 km/h have slammed into parts of the British Columbia Coast as a massive storm swirling off Vancouver Island severed highways and cut power to about 225,000 people. Winds exceeding 100 km/h were recorded in multiple areas late Tuesday, with gusts approaching 80 km/h at Vancouver’s airport.

Winds from the bomb cyclone weather system were expected to reach 120 km/h on the central and north coast, although remote Sartine Island, off the northern tip of Vancouver Island was battered by the most powerful gusts, equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane.

BC Hydro says most of the blacked-out customers were on Vancouver Island, but there were also dozens of outages across Metro Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast.

The Transportation Ministry says multiple highways on Vancouver Island have been closed because of downed power lines, fallen trees and debris, with more closures expected as the storm moves through.

A bomb cyclone is caused by rapidly dropping atmospheric pressure at the centre of a weather system.

Environment Canada says the storm is parked about 400 kilometres west of Vancouver Island and will remain offshore, with the winds hitting B.C.’s coastal areas not expected to weaken until later today.

BC Ferries cancelled numerous sailings Tuesday between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, and warned that trips could be affected through today.

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