The Cowichan Valley is battening down the hatches for an incoming storm with wind forecast from 90 to 100 km/h.
The town of Ladysmith urged the public to be prepared for the wind and heavy rain beginning this afternoon.
They say to expect power outages, secure loose items around your home, slow down while driving and watch out for falling tree limbs.
Environment Canada says the winds and rain result from a rapidly deepening low-pressure system off the West Coast of Vancouver Island that will move north on Wednesday.
While there is heavy rain in the forecast Environment Canada says that the high winds are the primary concerns.
The alert covers East and Inland Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and greater Victoria.
Winds are expected to peak tonight and will dissipate tomorrow morning.
The provincial government says the severity of “bomb cyclones” like this depends on how close they get to land. In this case, the storm is “expected to be strong but to stay offshore.”
