BC Ferries has cancelled several mid-day sailings between Vancouver and Vancouver Island as the latest in a series of fall storms batters the West Coast on Thursday.

Residents from the North Coast, Bulkley Valley and Haida Gwaii, all the way south to the Fraser Valley were warned to prepare for another round of wild winds.

Environment Canada says winds of up to 100 kilometres per hour hit the North Coast and parts of Vancouver Island earlier on Thursday morning, and big blow hit the south coast later on Thursday morning.

BC Ferries cancelled sailings between:

• Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay.
• Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay.
• Tsawwassen and Duke Point.
• Port McNeil, Alert Bay and Sointula.
• Comox and Powell River.
• Campbell River and Quadra Island.
• Hornby and Denman Island
• Quadra and Cortes Island

Earlier in the day BC Ferries also cancelled several sailings between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay because of mechanical issues with the Queen of Coquitlam, including the 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. sailings from Tsawwassen and the 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. sailings from Swartz Bay.

Winter driving conditions also prompted a morning closure of the Trans-Canada Highway from Golden to Field. The route was reopened by 8:30 a.m. Travel advisories have also been issued for the Coquhalla Highway, but that route remained open as of 8 a.m. PT.

The winds are expected to switch to the southeast as they sweep across the Central Coast, Cariboo, Bulkley Valley and Prince George areas later in the day.

A dump of snow is also forecast for the Vancouver Island mountains and the avalanche risk across much of the province remains high, following a week of heavy snow, wind and rain.

Many ski hills across B.C. have opened early because of the snow, including Whistler-Blackcomb, which has already recorded 237 centimetres of cumulative snowfall, surpassing the average November snowfall of 165 centimetres. Another 85 centimeters of snow is forecasted to fall by Monday.

With files from The Canadian Press