Winter is not over yet in southeastern Norway, despite recent spring-like weather and sunny skies. It was snowing again in Oslo Wednesday morning and state meteorologists warned that as many as 30 centimeters of fresh snow may fall on Thursday.
“The snowy weather will be quite intense,” Espen Biseth Granan of the state meteorologic institute told NRK’s weather newssite yr.no. “This means considerable amounts of snow, given the time of year.”
Could be ‘rather chaotic’
Granan noted that recent mild temperatures, sunshine and little if any precipitation has made most Norwegians “ready for spring,” calling the pending “relapse” of winter “significant” and something for which residents should be prepared.
He warned that Thursday may become “rather chaotic” in parts of both Sørlandet and Østlandet, the southern and eastern parts of the country. The snow was expected to start falling heavily during the night and wasn’t due to let up until Thursday evening. For once, Western Norway (Vestlandet) wasn’t expected to get the brunt of the powerful low-pressure system that was moving in.
“This weather system is coming in the backdoor, from the south,” Granan told yr.no. “It will move over Østlandet and eventually disappear over Sweden.” Strong winds from the southeast could make for blizzard conditions.
Just in time for Easter skiing
Vestfold, Telemark and Aust-Agder were the counties due to be hit hardest, with up to 30 centimeters of snow. The Oslo area and Østfold were due to get as many as 10 to 20 centimeters, so commuters were warned to brace once again for difficult driving conditions and possible public transport delays.
The snow was arriving just in time for the start of Norway’s traditional and lengthy Easter holidays, which will begin for many this weekend. Many Norwegians still prefer to spend Easter on skis and now the trails and slopes were set to get a fresh supply of snow, following weeks of concern that Easter skiing wouldn’t be very good this year. Prospects were brighter for skiing both in the mountains and at higher elevations around city centers.
newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund
