Thousands were without power, major roads and highways were closed and damage reports were streaming in after a major storm slammed into southwestern Norway on Sunday. The storm hit both mountain- and coastal areas of Sørlandet in the southern counties of Agder and Rogaland particularly hard.
Several mountain passes had to be closed on Sunday, along with major highways along the southern coast. PHOTO: Jarle Wæhler/Statens vegvesen
Transport officials were reporting that some motorists were stuck in traffic over the mountains for as long as seven to eight hours, as they waited for snowplow crews to clear roads in strong winds that reached hurricane force. Many roads ended up being closed, just as thousands of Norwegians were heading home after the Easter holidays.
The main E18 highway through Kristiansand was also closed late Sunday afternoon after flying roof tiles from a nearby apartment building threatened traffic in the area. The E16 highway at Biri south of Lillehammer was also closed after a bus tipped over in a roundabout, but it reopened later in the day.
The usually busy bridge on the E18 highway through Kristiansand, Varoddbrua, had to be closed on Sunday because of the strong winds that tore roof tiles off a nearby building. PHOTO: Statens vegvesen web camera
The extreme weather system known as “Dave” brought with it heavy rain, snow and wind gusts that tore off roofing, forced airline and ferry cancellations and is believed to have swept a crew member on board an oil tanker in the North Sea overboard. That accident occurred around 45 kilometers southwest of Stavanger and the rough weather was making search and rescue operations difficult. They had to be called off Sunday night.
Hardest hit were the counties of Agder and Rogaland, where several boats capsized in marinas and were torn away from their moorings. The art museum known as Kunstsilo in Kristiansand that opened in 2024 had to close and police cordoned off the area around it, after some of its siding was ripped off the landmark building that contains over 5,000 works of modern Nordic art.
Wind records were broken with gusts of 40 meters per second and around 11,000 homes and businesses were without power around 7pm, according to electricity provider Glitre Nett. Conditions were so dangerous that repairs to blown-down power lines had to be postponed.
Trains running between Oslo and Gothenburg in Sweden were also cancelled after a tree crashed down on tracks and then a train crashed into the tree. Passengers were stuck on board one train for five hours, with no water, electricity or operative toilets.
The worst of the storm was believed to be winding down Sunday evening, but many were told that power may not be restored until Monday morning.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund