Police, highway and municipal officials all over Southern Norway were once again urging motorists to “let your vehicles stay parked” on Monday. A sudden rise in temperatures accompanied by heavy rain was already causing problems along the West Coast during the weekend.
Flooding and slick roads posed the most trouble, with police warning that streets and highways still covered by remnants of recent snowstorms can quickly turn into the equivalent of ice rinks. “It can get very slippery very quickly,” Joakim Hjertum of Oslo’s public works agency told news bureau NTB.
State highway agency Statens vegvesen was also boosting patrols at border crossings from Sweden, to make sure trucks entering the country were prepared for severe winter driving conditions. In Oslo, city goverment leader Eirik Lae Solberg warned that it could be necessary to close schools because of treacherous weather conditions. He also called on local residents to avoid driving, in order to keep roads open for emergency vehicles.
Schools were already due to be closed on Monday in several areas around Oslo, and Norwegian Air cancelled several flights both to and from Oslo’s main airport at Gardermoen.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
