Perhaps you have planned a small Christmas visit for the weekend. But if you live in the west or north of the country, the advice to the meteorologist and the avalanche forecasters is clear: Do not go on a drive that is not absolutely necessary. Namely, a lot of weather has been reported for Friday and Saturday. Red danger for avalanches in Nordland and Vestland Markus Eckerstorfer, avalanche watchman, says that they are upgrading the danger warning to danger level four, i.e. red warning, for areas both in Nordland and in Vestland. – At Svartisen on Helgeland and Nord-Trøndelag south of Helgeland, there will be a red warning for avalanches on Saturday. Eckerstorfer says that it is only when there is danger level four on the warning that the warning for Helgeland also applies to Nord-Trøndelag. The Meteorological Institute has already issued a warning for slippery roads in Trøndelag and Helgeland on Thursday evening. Photo: screenshot / meteorological institute – Will the traffic be affected by the avalanche this weekend? – The avalanche warning applies to the entire region, but that it is difficult to say for sure where the avalanche will go and how big it will be, says Eckerstorfer. Danger levels for avalanches Varsom.no operates with five different danger levels for avalanches. Danger level 1 – slight Danger level 2 – moderate danger Danger level 3 – significant danger Danger level 4 – great danger Danger level 5 – very great danger. Danger level 5 is rare, but is important in preparedness for landslides against roads, tracks, infrastructure and buildings. At level 5, all traffic is advised against. Source: varsom.no Western Norway also receives a red danger warning for avalanches on Sunnmøre, inner Fjordane and inner Sogn og Voss. – The landslide will pick up already tomorrow. Some places get a significant danger level 3, but on Saturday it is danger level 4. But he adds that it may be that the warning will be adjusted down if the weather forecast changes. – There is a different risk of avalanches in the rest of the country, but the highest risk of avalanches is around Svartisen and the western region of Sunnmøre to Hardanger. This is what it looks like from the weather forecast now, says the supervisor. If you’re going out by car, you should check the danger warning yr at varsom.no. He adds that they also have an avalanche warning on Svalbard. Vegtrafikksentralen nord: – All men to the pumps Håvard Langmoe, operations manager of Vegtrafikksentralen Nord, says that they and the plowing crew in Nordland are prepared for the coming weather. – First there will be a lot of snow, then it starts to rain. Then it will be smooth. It will be difficult driving conditions, he says. – All crew will be outside. It will be all men at the pumps, you could say. He says that those who are out on a vegan trip are preparing for what is to come by planning free waterways in addition to all plowing crews being ready. The reason for the change in weather is an atmospheric river that hits Norway on Friday evening. Photo: screenshot / meteorological institute Langmoe says they are prepared for closed mountain passes. Especially Saltfjellet and perhaps Beiarfjellet are exposed. Therefore, he asks people who have decided to go out on the road to be patient, and to avoid queues if there is a need for car recovery. He thinks truck trains in particular will have a problem. – I would strongly consider whether I would travel on Saturday or whether it is possible to postpone the trip until the weekend. It will be challenging to travel over mountain passes on Saturday. The operations manager says they expect more warnings about both snow and rain. – Could there be a risk of avalanches spilling over the road as well? – We have a number of landslide-prone roads in Nordland that can be considered closed. Road specialist personnel in consultation with a geologist will, in the event, make that decision. They evaluate the messages that come in and make observations on the ground. He says it will take time before all of the road network is strewn. The worse the weather, the longer it will take. – We get everything that can come from bad weather and weather. We get the full package, you might say. The state meteorologist: – A lot of weather – There is a lot of weather on the way over Norway, says the state meteorologist, Tone Christin Thaule. For now, there is a yellow warning for avalanches for the whole of Northern Norway, except for the plains and in Aust-Finnmark during the yr. – Rain is expected in areas that now have snow. It could be a challenge in traffic, says the state meteorologist. A lot of wind is expected from the east. It also means that ship traffic can be affected. Therefore, there is a yellow danger warning for icing on ships in the coastal and fjord areas of Finnmark. – This weather will affect the whole of Norway. Today there is a low pressure over Western Norway and four rains. This will move northwards and cause wind to rise there, says Thaule. But even if it is already raining, towards the weekend it will be challenging in Western Norway. A new weather system will arrive on the night of Saturday, which will bring more precipitation. – On Saturday morning, this rainy weather moves on to Nordland. In some places it will fall like snow. The meteorologist says that the weather comes from the west in the Atlantic Ocean. It picked up precipitation over a long distance. This is what will now cause challenges with rainfall. In Folldal, in the north of Innlandet county, it was -31.3 degrees on the night of Thursday. In Karasjok, the degree scale reached 32.5. – Since it has been very cold beforehand, the snow can slow down the water. That can cause the water to have a problem with draining away, says Thaule.
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Red danger warning for landslides on Helgeland in Nord-Trøndelag and several places in Vestland – news Nordland
