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This Vancouver company claims its umbrella can withstand hurricane winds

Apparently, this umbrella is pretty special...
Hedgehog umbrella
"This umbrella can withstand hurricane winds."

While it isn’t possible to determine how much precipitation is in the forecast, Vancouverites can rest assured that there will be rain.

Indeed, Vancouver is often referred to as raincouver, as the coastal city sees an impressive amount of rainfall each year. With that in mind, it can be extremely difficult for commuters to stay dry in the city. And, even if they manage to find an umbrella that does a pretty decent job, they tend to break down quickly. As anyone who’s ever been caught in a powerful windstorm can attest, a regular umbrella will not pass the test.

Based in Vancouver, Hedgehog Umbrella asserts that their product allows Vancouver residents to feel secure in the strength of their umbrellas, no matter how potent the wind.

Vancouver Is Awesome spoke to Kevin Truong, Hedgehog Umbrella, who explained what makes their umbrellas so special.

“We’re a Canadian umbrella company that designs umbrellas that don’t break and don’t flip inside out! We started right here in Vancouver,” he said.

He also mentions how the umbrella can survive “hurricane level 1 wind speeds,” and provide a substantially sturdier alternative than most options.

The umbrellas come in a number of colours including classic black, midnight blue, scarlet red, sunshine yellow, and pink fuchsia.

The umbrellas use a “fully carbon fiber frame” that allows them to withstand mother nature’s fury. In addition, the precipitation shields are “windtested to over 70+ mph.”

The design utilizes the “WINDflex system” which the company compares to the way that, “the shocks on your car work to provide an overall smoother ride, each rib within the Hedgehog Umbrella’s architecture is designed to pivot and adjust independently to combat even against the most chaotic winds.”

The company provides a lifetime warranty for the umbrellas, too.

Last year, Tuesday, December 11th was the wettest December 11 on record since the the weather records began at Vancouver International Airport in 1937. There was a rain total of 37.8 mm, which caused localized flooding in low-lying areas. A number of Twitter users shared images of the heavy flooding, and some of them show cars that are flooded well over the top of their tires.

Following this, Thursday, December 13 also set a record for the wettest December 13 since the records began in 1937. In addition, it saw even more rainfall than Tuesday, with a 10 am rain total of 45.8 mm. More images and videos of flooding were shared on Twitter, and there was a disruption on the SkyTrain.