The residents of Norway’s northernmost county of Finnmark are having a rough winter. Bad weather also bore down on other northern counties on Wednesday, leading to closed roads and structural damage because of snow and strong winds.
Many key roads and highways were closed in Finnmark Wednesday morning including the main E6 highway over Finnmarksvidda between Alta and Skaidi, the coastal road heading up to Honningsvåg and the North Cape and most roads on the Varanger peninsula, including the highway between Vardø and Vadsø.
The state meteorological institute sent out warnings of strong winds, lots of precipitation and hazaradous driving all over Northern Norway on both Wednesday and Thursday. In Vardø, the winds blew the roof of a building and into the main street running alongside City Hall, the new cultural center and up to the church. In Møsjøen, much farther to the south in Nordland County, the winds also tore roofing loose from a building and it landed on parked cars. Police warned residents against venturing outdoors.
The E6 highway over Saltfjellet in Nordland County was also closed because of the bad weather and poor visibility. Several ferries were also cancelled.
New warnings were also posted regarding high avalanche danger. Rising temperatures were bringing pouring rain in some areas, and residents in Nordland were scrambling to clear their roofs of built-up snow before they may get pounded by rain that can freeze. The weight of it all set off warnings that roofs may collapse.
newsinenglish.no staff
