Golden saw an uncharacteristically strong wind storm last night, resulting in damage around town that included knocked over power lines and trees.
The Days Inn Hotel also lost part of its roof during a wind gust.
According to the Government of Canada’s Weather Information Services (measured at the Golden Airport), the wind started to pick up at about 6 p.m., reaching its peak after 9 p.m. During that hour the northwest winds were measured at 52 kilometres per hour, with wind gusts as high as 89 km/h. To put that into perspective, Golden’s average wind speed over the course of a year is around 3 km/h. (Source: Farmer’s Almanac).
Emergency Services in Golden were kept busy with calls, while clean up crews are working hard today to remove fallen trees.
Some area residents are still without power. BC Hydro says that homes “north of Hwy 95, South-East-West of Trans Canada Hwy” have been without power since 7:27 p.m. last night. A crew has been assigned, but there is no estimate on when the power will be restored (as on noon MST, July 24).