The skies opened up and rain poured down on areas all over Southern Norway on Sunday, following some welcome showers last week, too. The deluge that hit during the weekend, though, disrupted traffic after it flooded roads including the E6 highway south from Oslo.
Motorists found themselves stuck in a traffic jam that extended for several kilometers. More than 40 millimeters of rain fell in just two hours in some areas like Ås, and neither parched earth nor drainpipes could take it all in.
The worst disruption was the flooding on the E6 at Lambertseter in Oslo, which created a back-up all the way to the Ryen intersection. Football matches also had to be cancelled and trains were halted between Ski and Kolbotn after thunder and lightning created electrical problems.
Farmers welcomed the rain, but still complained that it came too late to save some crops. Even Norway’s cherished strawberry crop has been hit hard, with the heat wave of the past few weeks ripening the berries much too quickly and before they cold absorb enough water. Strawberries are thus expected to be small and rather hard this summer.
newsinenglish.no staff
