Weathering the November Storms

November is notorious for strong storms blowing through coastal BC. They come in wave after wave across Vancouver Island and blast through Powell River and up the arms of Powell Lake. They start as an Aleutian Low that winds up in the Gulf of Alaska then drops down the coast. If you watch the forecast on The Weather Network you see them spinning south and east with their isobars packed so close you know it's going to be a nasty one.

Last Monday was the first major storm of the season. Rain and wind began in the evening, but on Monday morning the worst winds hit. At the Powell River Airport they were clocked at 124 kilometres per hour (116 is hurricane force). You know it's a bad blow when the Texada Ferry doesn't make one of its scheduled runs.

We were at the cabin. Sunday night the winds were pretty strong, gusting down our chimney pipe. But at 11:00 a.m. I was looking out the sliding glass door and saw water spouts swirling up through First Narrows. In between the spouts, sheets of water were driven 500 feet into the air.

It was scary to watch, but then one of the spouts turned and headed straight for our cabin. When it hit, it dragged a heavy sawhorse off the deck and ripped the mooring ring for our boats right out of the deck. While we braved the elements to save our boats, we had to sadly watch our precious sawhorse float away in the storm tossed water. A few hours later the front passed and the skies cleared bringing a respite with blue skies and much needed sun.

Yesterday was another weather first, the first snow on Goat Island. The storm during the night brought heavy rain on our metal roof, but thankfully no wind. When I got up, the first thing I saw was a light dusting of snow on Goat. By the end of the day it was mostly melted, but a memorable event nonetheless.

We love living at our float cabin on Powell Lake. The weather is an ever-changing event that makes each and every day a new and exciting experience. -- Margy