Lower Mainland braces for a week of rain and wind as Pacific storms line up
After a stretch of dry, foggy days, the Lower Mainland’s weather is about to change. Forecasters expect a series of Pacific storm systems to start arriving Wednesday night, bringing rain and wind to Metro Vancouver almost every day into next week.
Environment Canada’s forecast for Vancouver, issued Tuesday afternoon, calls for rain and wind starting Wednesday night. After that it shows showers or rain in every period through Monday, with highs of 11 to 13°C and overnight lows of 6 to 10°C. No weather warnings or special weather statements were in effect for Metro Vancouver as of Tuesday afternoon.
A first front Wednesday, a stronger one Friday
A weak front moves through Wednesday evening into Thursday, bringing rain to low-lying areas and breezy winds from Whidbey Island north. Thursday afternoon should be mostly dry at lower elevations.
A stronger front arrives Friday with rain and gusty south winds. Forecasters say the winds will be strongest along the outer coast and from Admiralty Inlet north toward the B.C. border. Model probabilities put the chance of gusts over 65 km/h on Friday at 40 to 80 per cent in those areas. Environment Canada’s Vancouver forecast lists Friday as “rain, windy.”
A warm front follows on Saturday. It is expected to keep rain going “near BC” while parts of Puget Sound get a short break. Its cold front then crosses the region Saturday night into Sunday, bringing more rain and wind. Vancouver’s forecast shows rain from Saturday through Monday.
Leaves still on the trees
Forecasters warn that because many trees still have their leaves, the windy periods from Friday through Sunday could cause localized power outages. Trees in full leaf catch more wind, so branches and whole trees come down more easily than they would later in the fall.
Snow levels are expected to stay high, mostly between about 1,500 and 2,400 metres. That means rain on most of the North Shore mountains and snow only at the highest elevations.
Rough water offshore
On the water, conditions look worse. Forecasters give a 60 to 80 per cent chance of gale-force gusts over parts of the coastal waters and the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca from Thursday night into Friday morning. Seas off the Washington coast are expected to build to 4.5 to 5.5 metres, with a 25 to 40 per cent chance of topping six metres. A second round of gales is possible Saturday into early Sunday.
Inside the Salish Sea, from central Puget Sound north through the southern Strait of Georgia, south winds will rise Wednesday afternoon. Forecasters are confident they will stay below advisory levels on Wednesday. Mariners and ferry travellers should check Environment Canada’s marine forecasts and BC Ferries service notices before heading out on Friday and over the weekend.
No flooding yet, but soils are getting wetter
The hydrology outlook does not expect river flooding in the next seven days. But it says the increasingly wet systems, especially from Friday on, will start to saturate the ground and raise river levels. That could cause problems if more storms follow.
That is a familiar pattern in the Lower Mainland. In November 2021, a series of atmospheric rivers fell on ground that was already soaked, causing the floods that cut off Highway 1 and the Coquihalla. Forecasters have not described this week’s systems as an atmospheric river, and the current outlooks are much less severe. Still, they expect the active pattern to continue into next week, with another front likely late Monday.
Residents can prepare by clearing leaves out of storm drains and gutters, securing loose items on balconies before Friday’s wind, and keeping a flashlight and charged phone handy in case of outages. BC Hydro posts outage information at bchydro.com/outages.
Sources: National Weather Service Seattle, Area Forecast Discussion issued 2:28 p.m. PST, Nov. 3, 2026 (forecast.weather.gov); Environment and Climate Change Canada, Vancouver city forecast issued Nov. 3, 2026 (weather.gc.ca).
