Norwegians traveling around Southern Norway during this holiday week were being warned not only of ongoing avalanche danger in the mountains but dangerous combinations of rain and snow on roads as well. Up to 20 centimeters of snow was expected to fall on Østlandet (the southeast) during the course of Thursday.
Avalanche warnings were posted in Trollheimen, Romsdal, Sunnmøre, Indre Fjordane, Jotunheimen, Indre Sogn, Voss, Hallingdal, Hardanger and Vest-Telemark. Then came warnings from meteorologists of difficult driving conditions from Telemark east to Hedmark, and especially from Oslo and southward.
Wednesday dawned clear and sunny after rain on Tuesday (Second Christmas Day) that had fallen on frozen asphalt and made driving hazardous. Clouds moved in later in the day, and snow was due to start falling late Wednesday night. “We’ll have snow over most of Østlandet and the entire area east of the mountains, perhaps with the exception of coastal areas where the precipitation can come as rain,” state meteorologist Eldbjørg Moxnes told state broadcaster NRK.
She predicted the most snow in Telemark, lower Buskerud, Oslo, Østfold, Akershus and southern Hedmark and Oppland, up to 20 centimeters. She warned that when the snow lands on icy roads “it can be scary, but it is winter and folks know it can be a bit difficult in traffic when it snows a lot.” The snow was due to let up heading into the weekend, when temperatures would drop well below the freezing point.
newsinenglish.no staff
