Heavy rain is returning to the Sunshine Coast in time for the new year but a new public health order is in effect to ensure celebrations stay dry.
“Another storm system will approach the B.C. Coast today. Heavy rain is expected to develop this evening and continue through Friday night,” said a rainfall warning issued by Environment Canada at about 11 a.m. on Dec. 31.
The warning applies to the entirety of the Coast, from Gibsons to Earls Cove.
Bobby Sekhon, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, told Coast Reporter a new Pacific system will be ushering in heavy rainfall starting Thursday night, with 15 to 25 millimetres expected.
Heavy wind and rain will continue New Year’s Day with between 20 and 30 mm of precipitation forecast and gusts of up to 80 kilometres an hour near the water.
“There’s been a constant parade of storms riding a jet stream towards the B.C. Coast,” said Sekhon, who said the pattern has lasted since at least mid-December and will continue into the weekend, with another stormfront due Saturday.
Data from a Powell River weather station show the average rainfall amount for December is 158 mm. This month 169 mm of rain has fallen in the region.
Sechelt saw the wettest day of the month on Dec. 21, with 25.9 mm of rain. That was the third wettest Dec. 21 on record for the region.
Public Health Order
If unrelenting rainfall doesn’t curtail New Year’s Eve festivities, the latest public health order will.
On Dec. 30, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry issued a new order banning alcohol sales and service between 8 p.m. Dec. 31 and 9 a.m. Jan. 1. The ban applies to any organization that serves alcohol, including bars, restaurants, pubs, liquor and grocery stores, according to a release.
Further, any establishment with a liquor licence must close from 9 p.m. New Year’s Eve until 9 a.m. Jan. 1.
Restaurants or establishment that provide a “full meal service” are exempt.
Liquor sales for onsite consumption remain banned from 10 p.m. outside the New Year’s Eve order.
And because of COVID-19, BC Transit has not provided extended service on New Year’s Eve on the Sunshine Coast. The regular schedule will be in effect Dec. 31 and a Sunday schedule will apply Jan. 1.
The public health bans are part of an ongoing effort to control the second wave of infections. On Wednesday, 485 new cases were announced in B.C. and 11 deaths.
From Dec. 20 to Dec. 26 there were three confirmed COVID-19 cases on the lower Sunshine Coast, according to data released by the BC Centre for Disease Control. One case was identified in Powell River and 41 in the Howe Sound region, which includes Squamish and Whistler.
From January to November, 51 people had been infected on the Sunshine Coast, compared with 43 in Powell River and 400 in Howe Sound.
