© Les Bazso, PNG, Postmedia News, With Files From Vancouver SunKiteboarders at Crescent Beach take advantage of southeasterly gusts of 70 to 100 km-h.
Environment Canada had forecast sustained southerly winds of 70 to 100 km/h, with peak gusts from 100 to 140 km/h. The predictions were off by about 20 km/h, said Environment Canada meteorologist Dave Wray.
"It was definitely one of the stronger storms of the season but it wasn't busting any kind of records," Wray said. "The system was just a little further offshore and north than expected."
The strongest winds on the coast were on Solander Island, off the northwest tip of Vancouver Island, where gusts were clocked at 90 knots (160 km/h).
In Greater Victoria, the storm's peak time was between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., with sustained winds of 50 km/h and gusts of about 70 km/h. By mid-morning the warm, southeasterly winds had driven the temperature up to 9.4 C
The wind warning for Greater Victoria was cancelled by 2 p.m. but remained in effect for the north and central B.C. coast Wednesday evening.
The eye of the low-pressure system was just off the northern tip of Vancouver Island.
At its peak, the windstorm knocked out power to about 55,000 B.C. customers, according to BC Hydro.
More than 18,000 Metro Vancouver customers were without power by noon Wednesday due to the windstorm -mostly in Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford and Coquitlam. By 5 p.m. the number was reduced to about 2,600.
A spokesman for BC Hydro said fewer homes lost power than would normally be expected for a storm of such intensity.
BC Ferries cancelled sailings on major routes for more than half of Wednesday. Harbour Air Seaplanes cancelled all flights before noon and more later.
Randy Wright, senior vice-president of Harbour Air and Westcoast Air, said: "We lost a lot of flights." All morning seaplane flights were cancelled. Two flights from Victoria to Vancouver snuck out after midday, but the service was shut down again later.
One flight out of Abbotsford International Airport was cancelled due to wind, said airport general manager Mike Pastro.
Singer Sarah McLachlan, who played in Victoria on Tuesday, was among those stranded on Vancouver Island. Her Wednesday night show in Kelowna was postponed.
BC Ferries resumed sailings on major routes between Tsawwassen and Vancouver Island at 3 p.m. Northern routes remained suspended early Wednesday evening.
Hurricane-force winds in Queen Charlotte Sound, at the northern tip of Vancouver Island, caused the 4: 30 p.m. Port Hardy to Prince Rupert route to be delayed until 6 a.m. today.
In Tofino, Middle Beach Lodge was filled with storm watchers, said general manager Duane Bell.
Guests were "pretty much in awe as they watched Mother Nature -especially the waves crashing on the headlands below," Bell said. "Everyone was just watching it roll by."
Kyle Banks, of the tree service company Davey Tree, said crews attended a few storm related calls of fallen trees -mostly in the central and north Island.
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