State meteorologists were once again warning on Friday that a powerful new storm was expected to hit southern Norway and much of the rest of the country during the weekend. They’re warning of hurricane conditions along the west coast.
A storm center that was moving over Ireland on Thursday started heading towards Norway, due to reach the southern and western coasts late Friday and Saturday. The winter storm was then expected to move north towards the Trøndelag counties and the Helgeland coast, which was also battered during the Christmas holidays.
30-foot waves
Strong winds and heavy rain would be accompanied by extremely rough seas. The weather experts warned of high waves along the coast, possibly as high as 10- to 12 meters (more than 30 feet).
News bureau NTB reported that the worst weather would hit Vestlandet (the western counties of Rogaland and Hordaland). “There will be a lot of wind and by Saturday morning, we predict full storm, possibly hurricane-strength winds up to 33 meters a second,” Börje Johansson of the state meteorological institute, told NTB.
The storm would also be felt farther to the east, with residents of Telemark, Agder and Østlandet told to expect heavy rain and wind. Water levels were already high in the Oslo Fjord at the end of the week and there were new fears of flooding along the coasts.
Mountain passes may close
There were some predictions of only partly cloudy skies over Oslo on Saturday, with the storm arriving later in the day and evening. Johansson predicted that the rain and wind would ease on Sunday.
Motorists were advised of strong winds and hazardous driving conditions especially over the mountains, where some roads may close again. Northern Norway was expected to escape the new storm, but bitterly cold temperatures were predicted for much of Finnmark.
newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund
