Wicked, Wednesday wind on both west and east coasts of Canada

A windy Wednesday across the Maritimes It's a windy, cold day across the Maritimes. CTV Atlantic Chief Meteorologist Kalin Mitchell has the details.

Strong Autumn weather systems drove fierce winds Tuesday into Wednesday on both the west and east coasts of the country. The wind resulted in power outages and travel disruptions.

Atlantic Canada squeeze

Areas of Atlantic Canada are contending with northerly gusts peaking as high as 70 to 100 km/h on Wednesday. The region is caught between a cold front to the east and a strong area of high pressure centred over Quebec. It is the pressure gradient between those two weather systems that is driving the strong and chilly wind.

Wind warnings remain in effect for much of the south coast of Newfoundland, with gusts up to 100 km/h on parts of the coast. The Bonavista and Avalon Peninsulas remain under a rainfall warning with totals of 60 to 80 mm and 90 to 120 mm expected respectively. Power outages in the Maritimes as a result of the wind led to some school cancellations.

Ferry sailings between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were cancelled on Wednesday. The Confederation Bridge, adjoining New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island, is restricting certain classes of vehicles from crossing.

The high and gusty wind in the Atlantic Canada forecast will persist into Thursday. Wind speeds will diminish for Friday as the pressure gradient in the region is reduced as a stalled, low-pressure system backs into the Maritimes from the east.

British Columbia blast

A strong low-pressure system rolled off the Pacific into the Haida Gwaii Islands of British Columbia Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

The storm produced wind gusts reaching and exceeding 100 km/h for coastal areas as far south as Discover Island, which sits just to the east of Victoria near the southernmost tip of Vancouver Island. Wind-related utility outages numbered into the tens-of-thousands and disrupted key ferry routes.

The wind is diminishing with peak gusts at 8 a.m. PST falling into a range of 50 to 75 km/h. The wind warnings issued on Tuesday by Environment Canada ending.

Rainfall warnings remain for some areas including Metro Vancouver, which is expecting rain totals of 50 to 90 mm. The storm will also go on to produce wintry conditions on Highway 3-Paulson Summit to Kootenay Pass with as much as 30 to 50 cm of snow expected. Environment Canada has that area under a winter storm warning that extends to Thursday night.