New danger warnings tell of more storms to come. Now the main road into Bodø, national road 80 between Fauske and Bodø, can be closed at short notice. The reason is the risk of new slush avalanches at Kistrand during the weekend. This is stated by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute informs that there will be another change of weather in Northern Norway. – The temperature will gradually rise, so there will be sleet and snow showers during the night, which will change to sleet and rain showers during Sunday. That’s what meteorologist on duty Martin Granerød says. For Sunday, a short period of mild weather will come over Northern Norway. It produces supercooled rain that freezes when it hits the ground and gives mirror-smooth roads. Danger of icing on Sunday Photo: Meteorologene.no – It is good to be prepared that it may be a bit challenging on the roads during the day tomorrow. Granerød informs that a yellow danger warning for ice has been issued in large parts of northern Norway: Nordland, Troms and the westernmost parts of Finnmark. – When the first rainfall comes tonight, there may be some freezing or rain that freezes on the ground and then it may become icy and slippery. It is mainly the first part of the storm. Bilberger: – Leave the car! In Tromsø, car salvager Roy Hansen, who is co-owner of Tromsø bilredning 24/7 AS, is preparing for a busy weekend. They have doubled up with crew ahead of the weather that will be deployed. He says that in January they already had a record number of calls, with the demanding and changing weather that has been there. Usually they are involved in around 200 car rescues a month – in January they saved 320 cars. Roy Hansen, chairman and owner of Tromsø car rescue 24/7 AS. Photo: Privat Hansen has two requests for motorists who want to avoid becoming his or other tow truck’s clients in the next few days: – Do not drive on studless tires on hålka, and if you absolutely must not go out on the road: Leave the car. He fears that the way the weather has been reported, due to the safety of their own employees, they may have to cancel or postpone rescue operations. – We must constantly assess the safety on site, so that we do not end up in the same situation ourselves. If a seven-tonne tow truck crashes down a hill, it can be fatal. SHOW CONSIDERATION: Hansen encourages motorists to show consideration if an accident is imminent and the warning triangles warn of ongoing rescue operations: slow down and respect ongoing rescue operations. Photo: VIKING He tells of cases where employees are almost hit by motorists who drive at high speed and drive through the roadblocks surrounding ongoing rescue operations. – It worries me that many people do not respect the fact that a rescue is in progress, and many keep a strikingly high speed towards the accident sites we go to, says Hansen. The car salvagers in Tromsø and the surrounding area are in any case equipped to respond if motorists need it, within the next 24 hours. Poor visibility, wind and pack snow In almost the entire country, Varsom has sent out danger warnings for Sunday. Natural hazard warnings in Norway for Sunday 12 February. Photo: Skjermbildet / Varsom.no From Saturday evening, a danger warning has been sent out about slippery roads in Trøndelag. For Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal there is a yellow danger warning for landslides, mudslides and floods on Sunday. An orange warning for avalanches has been sent out for Nord-Troms, Lyngen, Sør-Troms, Indre Troms, Ofoten, Salten and Helgeland. This means that there is a significant risk of avalanches in these areas and it is encouraged to avoid areas with fresh jagged snow flakes, as naturally triggered avalanches are possible. Storms and landslides also cause problems on the mountain passes in southern Norway: it is closed over Hardangervidda, between Hol and Aurland and Tyin-Årdal. Over Hemsedalsfjellet there is a convoy. On Saturday, the roads in Troms will be affected by poor visibility caused by wind and blowing snow, but for now the roads are open. There was poor visibility on the E8 into Tromsø in Lavangsdalen on Saturday afternoon. Photo: Ingrid Wester Amundsen / news – In Finnmark, we have a lot of convoy driving, says traffic operator in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Grethe Turmo Hatten. Despite poor visibility in large parts of the county, it has been a calm day for the Road Traffic Centre. – But there will probably be more to do tomorrow when the rain comes, says Hatten. However, it does not stop there. Strong gust of wind The storm will return at the weekend. A yellow warning has been issued for strong gusts of wind over large parts of northern Norway. Meteorologist on duty Martin Granerød Photo: Kamilla Pedersen/MET – There is a storm center out in the Norwegian Sea that will affect the weather through Sunday, says Granerød at the Meteorological Institute. – During the night, it will increase to a south-southwest stiff to strong gale on the coast and exposed mountain areas. Granerød states that this applies to the Nordland coast from Rørvik in Nord-Trøndelag and further north. – The wind increases first in the south and then it will increase in Lofoten, Vesterålen, Troms and Finnmark during the night and the morning hours tomorrow morning. It is southerly stiff to strong gales for the first part of tomorrow. Sunday morning, early afternoon, the wind will turn to a strong westerly gale and intermittent small storms. – It is the coastal areas and mountain areas that will get the strongest winds. In the cities and other towns, there will also be quite strong winds. – The only places where a yellow danger warning for strong gusts of wind has been sent out are Ofoten and inner areas of Troms. There, the gusts can reach approximately 30 meters per second. The new storm will last until Monday morning, when strong gusts of 27–35 m/s are expected. – It continues with a lot of bad weather. On 25 January there was a large mudslide on this stretch of road. Dangerously busy road may be closed Riksveg 80 between Fauske and Bodø is one of Northern Norway’s busiest roads. From Saturday evening, the risk of avalanches will increase again and thus the road may be closed at short notice. – We are doing everything we can to make sure that the road is safe, and if it is not safe, we will close it, control engineer Erling Hansen told news on Friday. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has deployed guards on ordinary emergency preparedness to monitor avalanches and to be able to stop traffic quickly if there is a need to close the road. A couple of weeks ago, the road had to be closed after a major mudslide occurred on national highway 80. This weekend, the National Road Administration has people out to monitor the landslide area. Photo: Ida Bohlin / Norwegian Public Roads Administration – Extra preparedness has been set up both with us and outside with the contractors who monitor the conditions at all times, says Siv Sørdal at the Norwegian Road Traffic Centre. In addition, a drone is ready to investigate the area on Sunday. – We are observant everywhere, when we receive such notifications we strengthen. We expect bad weather and try to be as prepared as we can both inside and outside. Vegtrafikksentralen encourages motorists to listen to the weather reports before going out on the road. – Wear shoes according to the conditions and think carefully before you set off when the weather reports are waiting now, says Sørdal.
ttn-69
The storm on its way back – soapy roads in northern Norway – news Nordland
