Travellers flying out of Vancouver International Airport (YVR) should always check the weather at their destination before heading to the airport — but they should pay particular attention right now.
Environment Canada has issued a wind warning for Metro Vancouver, calling for strong winds gusting up to 70 to 80 km/hr Thursday (Jan. 5) night. But a couple of severe winter storm systems impacting North America could impact Vancouver flights in the coming days.
A satellite depiction of a storm system moving in from the Pacific Ocean toward the California coast should give air travellers pause.
Air Mass RGB images from @NOAASatellites #GOES17/#GOESwest showed the Hurricane Force low moving toward the US West Coast: https://t.co/dXQ8PAyXC0 pic.twitter.com/mRsnlaRLJj
— UW-Madison CIMSS (@UWCIMSS) January 4, 2023
On Thursday, a powerful storm "unleashed high winds and torrential rains" across the state, resulting in massive flooding and mudslides, the death of a child, and leaving over 100,000 homes and businesses without power, according to The Weather Network.
On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency and state officials "urged Californians to avoid travel during the storm."
As of this writing, over 60 flights have been cancelled in the past 24 hours at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), according to international flight tracker FlightAware.
Travellers should check schedules for Vancouver flights before heading to YVR
SFO has advised air travellers to sign up for their airline’s flight alerts to get notified about delays or cancellations before they head to the airport and to allow extra time for their commute.
While the weather south of the border hasn't resulted in significant delays locally, there were a couple of flight delays at YVR on Wednesday night due to the California weather, spokesperson Shruti Ashok told Vancouver Is Awesome.
"Operations are normal at YVR at this time," she explained, adding that the airport will continue to monitor developing weather conditions.
Travellers should check flight details with the airport online or with their airline before arriving, particularly if they are headed to California.
YVR is expecting over 63,000 passengers Thursday and is operating at over 99 per cent of its planned schedule, with 605 flights and only three cancellations.
