After a lengthy stretch of beautiful summer weather in Southern Norway, visitors and residents alike woke up to snow on the mountain plateau behind the Hafjell ski center on Tuesday. Guests at the Pellestova Hotell Halfjell were mightily surprised, as were everyone working there.
Lars Ivar Ødegaard from Bærum outside Oslo had taken his family up to the area for some summer bicycling in the mountains. “I’ve been skiing here before,” he told state broadcaster NRK. “Maybe that’s what we should be doing.”
There wasn’t enough snow for skiing, but the entire area was covered by a few centimeters that also covered the rooftops of holiday homes and the hotel. State meteorologist Leonidas Tsopouridis called it an “interesting” weather development just a day after forecasts were issued for a heat wave in most of Southern Norway this weekend.
“This has happened before, but it’s more common in June and August, not July,” Tsopouridis told NRK. He said temperatures would remain low on Wednesday, but the weather was still due to warm up before the weekend.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
