Friday, November 23, 2012

Transportation services affected most by Thursday's wind

For Prince Rupert, the windstorm never quite measured up to the prognostications of the weather service on Thursday, however in other parts of Northwestern British Columbia the weather system did make for an eventful day.

While Haida Gwaii felt the full force of the windstorm as it raced eastbound towards the North coast, the impact of note for the most part was felt in Terrace, Kitimat and Stewart. Three communities which seem to have borne the brunt of the storm developments of Thursday.

Snow fell through the day in all three communities, making transit along highways east, north and south a little tricky for motorists, with the road advisory north to Stewart recommended as  "travel only if necessary" for the majority of the afternoon and evening.

For the most part the major inconvenience to the Northwest was in the form of flight cancellations, flights into and out of Terrace, Smithers, Sandspit and Prince Rupert were either cancelled or delayed through the day, with Air Canada bearing the brunt of the scheduled cancellations on the day.

In Prince Rupert the 1035 AM flight Thursday ended up cancelled, while the 8 PM flight arrived more than hour behind schedule arriving at 9:06 PM.

As we outlined on the blog earlier, the strong winds also provided for a little bit of drama south of Kitimat as a bulk ship destined for Portland, Oregon ran into a bit of trouble, requiring the attendance of the Coast Guard on stand by, while the vessel Tern Arrow worked to regain its power.

British Columbia Ferries has also had to make amendments to their schedule, with the Northern Expedition now sailing out of Prince Rupert at 6 PM on Friday night after more than 24 hours of weather delays for both the Haida Gwaii and Port Hardy runs.

Terrace Standard-- How about that wind?

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