An emergency VMA warning and a red alert have been issued for western Norrland as the snow and wind continues to batter Sweden.
A red weather warning for snow and wind has been issued in parts of coastal Ångermanland, covering the cities of Härnösand, Kramfors and Örnskoldsvik. Red weather warnings are the most serious from weather agency SMHI.
A VMA warning, or ‘important message to the public’, has also been issued for the entire Västernorrland region, advising residents to listen to local radio P4 Västernorrland for more information (the exact frequency varies depending on your city).
“Do not go out in traffic,” the warning reads, with the agency adding that the risk of getting stuck is “very high”.
“Rescue services may take a long time to reach you and severe delays or cancelled departures in public transport are likely,” it adds.
SMHI meteorologist Linus Karlsson told the TT newswire that the public should stay inside unless absolutely necessary.
The warning is in place from 3pm on January 8th until 9am on January 9th. In some areas, as much as 40 or even 60 centimetres of snow could fall, together with strong winds.
‘If you head onto the roads you’re putting yourself at risk’
“We’re in the middle of the storm right now,” Henrik Sundquist, section chief at the Transport Administration, told TT. “There are different levels of warnings.”
Felicia Danielsson, press communicator from the Transport Administration, echoed SMHI’s warning to stay off the roads.
“If you head out onto the roads then you should be aware of the fact that you’re putting yourself at great risk, partly because there could be an accident but also because you could get stuck.”
Tracked vehicles able to drive over snow have been deployed in Kramfors and Örnsköldsvik, with heavy-duty tow vehicles also in place along the E4 motorway ready to clear the way for snowplows if needed.
Healthcare region in emergency response mode
The local region, Region Västernorrland, has gone into stabsläge, a type of emergency readiness mode, due to the weather, according to the area director for the southernmost part of the region, Roger Westerlund.
“We did that as we saw very quickly this morning that staff could not reach the hospital. People have arrived during the day, and we’re now preparing the rest of the region for the snow which is going to move along the coast.”
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Cancellations on public transport
All passenger trains on the Botnia and Ådal lines have been cancelled until noon on Friday, but goods trains are still running.
“We’re doing that to keep the route running,” Anna Lindahl, head of maintenance, told the TT newswire. “It makes it easier to quickly restart passenger traffic later.”
Yellow and orange warnings have also been issued for the rest of western Norrland until tomorrow morning, with a yellow warning also in place in western Sweden, including Gothenburg and Karlstad until noon on Friday. You can keep up with SMHI’s warnings here.