Merete Lorentsen on Silsand on Senja in Midt-Troms is one of many that has been almost completely covered in snow in the last 24 hours due to the polar low pressure that is raging in the north. – I was shocked when I opened the door this morning. I have never experienced so much snow in such a short time before, she says to news. The late summer resident Åse Hansen also had big problems when she had to open the exit door in the early morning. – The world’s best excuse to stay at home today?, she writes on Facebook. This is what it looked like in the center of Finnsnes on Friday morning. The roads in the area are almost impassable. Photo: Malin Straumsnes / news Several schools in Senja municipality in Troms have to remain closed due to the weather. Large amounts of snow mean that the buses cannot get there, and the teachers struggle to get their cars out. Therefore, both Finnsnes secondary school and Finnsnes primary school are closed today. Must keep schools closed – The roads are impassable in places and the teachers therefore cannot get to school. The plow trucks struggle to keep the roads open. It is irresponsible to send the young people out today due to the weather conditions, says headmaster Line Grønstrand to news. Senja upper secondary school will also be closed on Friday due to the storm. – We run a home school. The buses have stopped because it is unsafe to drive in the current weather. The road up to the school is not plowed either, so it is safest and easiest to drive home school today, principal Stein-Erik Svendsen tells Folkebladet. Several cars are said to have driven off the road due to the weather. – There is little visibility and difficult driving conditions. The traffic is snaking its way. Several cars are also in the ditch, says news’s reporter Malin Straumsnes on the way from Målselv to Finnsnes. Troms police district confirms that the weather creates challenges. Among other things, there are major traffic challenges in Finnfjordbotn due to bad weather, the police say. Meteorologist: – A lot of snow According to the Norwegian Road Traffic Agency, there are also difficult driving conditions in several places in northern Nordland due to wind and a lot of snow. In particular, the roads in the Andøya area are affected, where several cars have driven off. Håvard Langmo at the Veitrafikksentralen asks road users to be aware of the conditions In addition, the fast ferry between Tromsø and Harstad has been canceled due to the weather conditions. – At the moment, the polar low pressure is over Senja, and it has produced a lot of snow last night, says meteorologist at the Meteorological Institute, Gunnar Noer. Andøya, Ringvassøya and Vannøya have also received large amounts of snow during the night. In addition to large amounts of snow, there has also been strong wind. In some places there has been a full storm, says Noer. On Andøya, the road between Tofta and Risøyhamn is closed due to bad weather. The precipitation field shows how locally the low pressure is. The meteorologists expect that the polar low pressure will move north. Photo: Meteorologists Considerable risk of avalanches The wind and the large amounts of snow have also led to an increased risk of avalanches. According to the avalanche warning, the danger of avalanches is significant throughout northern Norway. Significant avalanches are also reported in Romsdal and Sunnmøre. According to Noer, the storm will now gradually move north-east, and will weaken throughout the day. Also on Thursday, polar low pressure caused major problems for traffic in the north. Among other things, a number of flight departures and arrivals to and from Tromsø Airport were delayed or cancelled, informed the press service in Avinor on Thursday evening. There has also been intermittent bad weather elsewhere in the country, which has also led to displacement in Tromsø. Photo: Meteorological Institute Trouble also elsewhere in the country In Western Norway there are also delays and cancellations due to the weather. In Bergen, delays and canceled routes are reported on the Bybanen and to and from Flesland. According to Avinor, there are also some adjustments and delays to and from Flesland due to tracking errors due to the weather at other airports. Helicopter traffic to the oil and gas installations in the North Sea from a number of locations has been suspended until further notice. In Rogaland, traffic is slow in Vikesåbakkane along the E39 in Bjerkreim. The reason is that for a period there was a complete standstill on the road due to a trailer getting stuck. The plowing trucks were in the same queue, and that is the reason that the area had not been plowed well enough. The snow also creates difficult driving conditions elsewhere in Rogaland. On Karmøy, there has been a lot of snow in particular, and we are working hard to keep the road clear of snow. A polar low pressure is a small, often intense low pressure that forms when cold air from the ice sheet in the Arctic flows out over open water, according to Store norske lexikon. These low pressures are often followed by heavy snow showers, strong winds and very poor driving conditions.
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– I was shocked when I opened the door – news Troms and Finnmark
