In several places in the country, record amounts of snow are being reported in the mountains, with low temperatures at night. This means that there is a lot of snow “in stock” when the spring flood starts in earnest. The last time there was significant and extensive damage during a spring flood in Eastern Norway was in 2018, when there were 45 days of flood warnings. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute reports that there will now be milder nights in the mountains, and temperatures are on their way up to normal levels. The probability of a damaging flood is higher than in a normal year, says Toril Hofshagen, regional head of the Norwegian Directorate of Water Resources and Energy. FOLLOWING THE SNOW MELT: Toril Hofshagen in NVE. Photo: news The snowfall in Eastern Norway in April this year led to several motorists having to switch back to winter tires at the turn of the month. At Lake Sjusjøen, the cross-country skiers reported that they had never seen so much snow at this time of year. – Unusual to plow in May Ivar Austeng in Stor-Elvdal municipality in Innlandet has been plowing for cabin owners for 15 years. He cannot remember that he has done this after Easter, in May. – There is not really that much snow, but it is very special that there is so much in May, says Austeng. BREYTING IN MAY: Ivar Austeng in Stor-Elvdal. Photo: Frode Meskau / news He says that there is still 70-80 cm of snow in the terrain where he plows. Further down in the village is the Circle K station of Rune Johansen, who is the general manager. – We follow the weather forecast a lot, and are excited to see how this goes. HOPE FOR THE BEST: Rune Johansen, general manager at Circle K in Stai in Stor-Elvdal. Photo: Anders Bakkerud Larsen / news He says that they are “well used” to damaging floods. During the flood in 2013, the water came right up to the buildings, and fish swam between the petrol pumps. – The petrol station was built in 1932, and the first flood of damage came in 1934, he says. Hoping for a gradual increase in temperature Toril Hofshagen from NVE says that everyone can follow updates on varsom.no. She says that the “desired weather” from now on is that there will be a gradual increase in temperature and as little precipitation as possible. – If this works, we can still get a moderate spring flood, she says. – We recommend that the municipalities follow up on their flood preparedness plans. Everyone also has a responsibility to check waterways on their properties, and remove gravel from gutters, she says. During the Pentecost flood in 2013, there was damage worth half a billion kroner. Then it was precisely the combination between melting snow and rain that struck. Local floods can also have major consequences. In mid-April, large amounts of rainfall had consequences for the E6, the Gjøvik line and the Dovre line.
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