After weeks of clear blue skies and cold temperatures, residents of southern Norway were being warned this week that a spring storm was on the way. It’s likely to hit Sørlandet and Vestlandet in the south and west on Thursday, and then move in over Telemark and southeastern Norway, with lots of rain, sleet, wind and snow.
“It’s a solid low-pressure system, so there will be a sharp change from the stable, dry weather we’ve been having recently,” state meteorologist Vibeke Thyness told weather website yr.no on Tuesday.
Thyness said the storm system would bring warmer temperatures but lots of precipitation, especially along the south coast and in the Agder counties. “The low-pressure system will hit Sørlandet and Rogaland first, on Thursday,” Thyness said. “They we’ll get an increase in the wind along the coast and in the southern mountains.”
On Friday, according to Thyness, the low-pressure system will move farther north and east, hitting Oslo with both rain, sleet and snow. Motorists were being advised not to replace their winter tires just yet.
“It’s been cold for a long time, so it won’t take much for the precipitation to be white,” Thyness said. She predicts snow over 300 meters, meaning many of the hills and forests around Oslo will be coated once again and ski trails replenished.
In some areas, there may be as much as 10 to 20 centimeters of snow, Thyness predicted. In others, the sleet and snow may turn into rain, especially along the Oslo Fjord and in coastal areas farther south.
The storm is likely to extend as far north as Trøndelag, but the weather will improve in the south by late Friday and over the weekend. “There will be better weather on Saturday, at any rate,” Thyness said.
Views and News from Norway/Nina Berglund
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