A line of thunderstorms powered through the Shuswap Sunday afternoon, bringing a mix of torrential rain and hail.
On Sept. 16, 22.1 mm of rain fell in Salmon Arm, the most rain in one day since a record set in 1907 when 26.9 mm fell on the community.
Environment Canada meteorologist Lisa Ervin says Sunday’s rainfall accounts for almost half of the 43.4 mm that normally falls in the entire month of September.
Related: Shuswap storm brief but powerful
Gravel and soil was washed out onto many sloped roadways in the community as water rushed downhill.
The often problematic intersection of Lakeshore Drive and Ross Street flooded, with minor water damage occurring in the North Okanagan-Shuswap Brain Injury Society where a rep said Tuesday that the office of the society’s newly arrived neighbour, the North Okanagan-Shuswap Teachers Association, sustained damage that was being addressed by a restoration company.
“No manholes covers came off that I am aware of, but several of the city’s storm drainage systems were inundated due to the intensity and short duration of the rainfall,” said Salmon Arm’s director of engineering and public works Rob Niewenhuizen.
“These storms appear to be more frequent and more intense than normal years.”
The storm caused power outages after a tree fell on a power line near Magna Bay, says BC Hydro rep Jen Walker-Larsen.
“This affected 1,427 customers along the Squilax-Anglemont Road east of Evans Road. They were out from 4:46 p.m. to 7:28 p.m.,” she says. “We also had a small outage that affected fewer than five customers from 4:31 p.m. to 8:20 p.m. on the 2700 block of White Lake Road. This was due to a branch that fell on a power line.”
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