Pacific
Winter storm at Long Beach
on the west coast of Vancouver Island |
Take a break
from your winter skiing trip to experience the raw power of
the mighty Pacific Ocean as ferocious waves roll in from Japan
and pound the shores of the rugged west coast - nature in all
it's fierce majesty!
When
the storm has passed, you'll be rewarded with peaceful strolls
along cool, deserted beaches - a good time for beachcombing
for washed-up treasures. Make the best of these La Nina seasons
by creating opportunities to witness some spectacular weather.
Storm
watching is stirring for children and adults alike, whether
snug in a room with a view or out in a ferocious gale. On
the west coast of Vancouver Island you can watch as the open
Pacific unleashes its wrath against the shore. Waves 8 feet
high roll in and pound the rocky headlands, hurling themselves
up on the beach.
At Long
Beach in the Pacific Rim National
Park you can walk for miles along pristine sandy beaches
and experience storm watching first hand. Within the boundaries
of this magnificent park you will find accommodation right
at the shore, affording bird's eye views of the sea and surf.
Tofino and Ucluelet
are the towns nearest the park, both offering a range of cozy
accommodations.
Surf
poundingthe rocks at Long Beach |
Storm
watching is not limited to the west coast of the island though,
admittedly, it is quite spectacular along the Pacific shore.
Along many of the beaches on the east side of the Island you
can hear and watch some mighty storms roll in. Watch as a
smooth sandy beach is transformed when hundreds of pieces
of driftwood are pitched up onto its sandy shore. Likewise,
the Gulf Islands experience some stunning electrical storms
that can only be viewed out over the water.
Storm
watching is a wondrous West Coast spectacle, at its best during
the fall and winter months. Starting in October, a vast, persistent
low-pressure system establishes itself in the Gulf of Alaska
and begins to deepen. The turbulent frontal zone between arctic
and subtropical air masses shifts southward and the Island
finds itself in the path of the storm track. All through November,
December, January and February, gale after gale slams into
these exposed western shores.
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