Police all over eastern and southern Norway were urging motorists against driving on Monday, as snow, sleet and rain poured down following weeks of warmer, sunnier weather. The surprise storm even sent a school bus sliding off a road in Røyken, west of Oslo, and traffic came to a standstill in many areas.
Most all motorists have already switched from winter- to summer tires on their vehicles, so were unprepared for another batch of slick, wintry roads. Some areas were hit by as many as 10 centimeters of heavy wet snow and highway authorities warned that roads were slippery.
Much of their snow-clearing equipment has also been stored away after a winter that produced little snow. It was thus a surprise when areas like Tranby in Lier and Nakkerud in Ringerike were suddenly looking like a winter wonderland again.
Police reported “chaos” on state highway RV23 heading into Drammen Monday morning. Several cars had slid off the road and heavy trucks simply stopped because they couldn’t drive any farther. RV35 in Ringerike was also closed at Nakkerud because a truck was blocking it.
Weather forecasts called for an improvement as early as Tuesday, when some spring sunshine was due to return.
newsinenglish.no staff
