More storms coming
December 12, 2011
Norway’s spate of stormy weather looked set to continue this week, after another weekend of hurricane-force winds along the southwest coast. The counties of Agder and Rogaland have been hardest hit. “We had another major storm in this area during the night heading into Sunday, and from Tuesday it will stir up again,” Ingrid Bentsen [...]
First snow finally falls down south
December 7, 2011
Oslo-area residents were among those who woke up to winter on Wednesday, after snow started falling Tuesday evening and stuck around through much of the day. It wasn’t much, only a few centimeters of wet snow that turned to ice, but its sheer whiteness can brighten up otherwise deep and dark December days. Much more [...]
Snow finally arrives – and lots of it
December 5, 2011
Residents of Stryn, in the mountains of Sogn og Fjordane, woke up to 50 centimeters of heavy, wet snow on Monday. Snow also fell at high elevations in southern Norway and many places around the west, with reports of the long-awaited white stuff coming in from Stavanger as well. The Oslo area remained mostly bare [...]
Next stop: Trafalgar Square
November 18, 2011
The large Christmas Tree that will light up London’s Trafalgar Square was chopped down in a forest on the eastern side of Oslo on Friday. From there it began its journey across the North Sea, a gift from the people of Oslo to the British capital. It’s the 65th year in a row that the [...]
Sun sets for the winter up north
November 18, 2011
The sun was set to dip below the horizon on Sunday in Norway’s far north, and not rise again until January 21. The season known as mørketiden (the dark time) is settling in, but it can actually offer some spectacular light as well. On some days, the sky can be ablaze with what looks like [...]
Six ski resorts decide to open
November 18, 2011
An ongoing lack of snow continues to frustrate ski resort operators all over Norway. Even with snow-making equipment running at full speed, only six resorts appeared able to open this weekend, compared to 39 at this time last year. The season’s first World Cup event in Norway was moving forward, though, at a new location. [...]
Experts predict a mild winter ahead
November 11, 2011
Climate researchers and state meteorologists are forecasting a much milder winter than the past two in Norway, while ski resort operators have been forced to postpone the opening of the ski season once again because of lack of snow. Meanwhile, political efforts to reverse climate change seem to have melted along with the ice. Only [...]
Icicles led to injury and prison
July 7, 2011
An Oslo court sent a powerful message to property owners on Thursday: Remove snow and icicles hanging off rooftops in winter, or risk going to jail. Both the owner and manager of an apartment building in Oslo’s fashionable Frogner district were sentenced to prison and fined heavily after failing to do so, and after a [...]
Avalanche fears force evacuations
March 28, 2011
Dozens of families were evacuated in the northern county of Troms over the weekend, after more bad weather raised fears of more avalanches in the area. Most had to be taken from their homes on snowmobiles, because roads were blocked. Around 40 persons went along with local officials’ warnings that they should leave their homes [...]
Even more tragedy in the mountains
March 6, 2011
Norway’s number of fatalities linked to bad weather conditions rose again over the weekend, when a woman from Bærum, west of Oslo, became the eighth victim of a snow- and rockslide this winter, this time in the mountainous county of Telemark. The woman had been located and dug out of the slide at Rauland on [...]
A guide to skiing around Oslo
February 25, 2011
With thousands of kilometers of prepared ski trails around the Norwegian capital, skiing is a popular winter activity among Oslo-area residents. Views and News offers some tips for getting out there and joining the locals, far from the maddening crowd. The city’s ski season hit high gear when the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (Ski-VM) [...]
Worrisome weather for Ski-VM 2011
February 23, 2011
Light snowfall, rising temperatures and worrisome winds from the south were in the forecast Wednesday morning, just hours before the opening ceremonies of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (Ski-VM 2011) in Oslo. Organizers were hoping a change in the weather wouldn’t spoil all their plans. After a long spell of sub-freezing temperatures with lots [...]
Two died after avalanche
February 13, 2011
Two men believed to be part of a group of off-piste skiers died after the group itself apparently set off an avalanche at a ski resort in western Norway. The avalanche at Eikedalen was probably triggered by the skiers from below who ventured off the prepared slopes, Kjetil Brattelien, an avalanche expert at Norges Geotekniske [...]
Jumpers fly off world’s biggest
February 11, 2011
NEW WORLD RECORDS: Norway can now boast the world’s biggest ski jump, and it’s NOT Holmenkollen, which is getting the most attention these days. The newly expanded jump at Vikersund, an hour’s drive west of Oslo, opened this week and already has registered its first world records. First jumped Johan Remen Evensen of Molde 243 [...]
Snow falling over most of the south
February 9, 2011
UPDATED: State meteorologists warned of new heavy snowfall due to move in over southern Norway Wednesday night. It started later than expected but was expected to last through most of Thursday. The weekend forecast was bright. The weather experts were still predicting Thursday morning that the low pressure system could dump as much as 20 [...]
