The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has issued a yellow warning for snow in inland areas and in the mountain area in parts of Western Norway south of Stad. Inland areas and in mountain areas, there can be 10–20 cm of snow in 24 hours, but high up in the mountains, more than 25 cm can fall. Strong winds and drifts of snow have been reported on national highway 7 above Hardangervidda. Here, there can be queue driving at short notice, informs the Swedish Traffic Agency. Currently, there is no notification that the mountain passes on Haukelifjell, Filefjell, Dovrefjell, Strynefjellet or Hemsedalsfjellet may be closed. Follow the Christmas weather at yr.no. Gets worse in the afternoon – It gets worse during the afternoon. Towards the evening, there will be an increase in wind – especially in the mountain area, says on-duty meteorologist Susanne Reuder. She urges those thinking about the mountains on Christmas Eve to leave the car. – It is very important that you pay close attention to road traffic reports and weather reports that come in. Driving conditions can also be challenging in the lowlands of Western Norway, according to traffic operator Jørgen Bødker at Vegtrafikksentralen West. In the lowlands, it goes from minus degrees to rain and plus degrees. At the same time, the frost can linger on the ground, Bødker explains. – The challenge is that the salt on vegans rains away when the precipitation changes from snow to rain. In the lowlands you can find places where rain freezes on the ground. – Stay home and watch the Cinderella Meteorological Institute send out a danger warning for snowdrifts for the area from Nord-Troms and the whole of Finnmark county on Saturday. The warning applies until Sunday evening. The plowing crew on the Nordkinn Peninsula in Finnmark states that there are challenging driving conditions on the sections they plow. Among other things, county road 888 between Bekkarfjord and Hopseidet is closed. A new assessment will be made here as to whether the road can be reopened at 18:00. Plow driver Tobias Johansen reports that things are going well on the peninsula. – Stay home and watch Cinderella. There is not much to see on the mountain, says Johansen, who expects that he will be sitting in the plow truck on Christmas Eve to keep vegans on the peninsula open. Selvasa Persen Maskin AS currently has three plow trucks in operation on the road sections on the Nordkinn Peninsula. They advise road users who are unsure which way to go to stop and wait for the tow truck. Storms on the Nordkinnpenhalvøya The Swedish Road Administration reports that two stretches of road in Finnmark are completely closed on Sunday morning. E69 between Skarsvåg and Nordkapp (pictured) is closed due to bad weather. On county road 98 Ifjordfjellet, there is currently convoy traffic. The first column left Ifjord at 09:15. Elsewhere, the Swedish Road Administration reports that there is snow on several stretches of road in Finnmark. There is thus a risk of jib flaps on the road. Driving conditions are challenging on the Nordkinnhalvøya. Photo: Norwegian Public Roads Administration Must celebrate Christmas on platform After several helicopter departures were canceled after the storm, the departures from oil platforms are behind. – There is still a backlog. We have managed to clear much of the backlog and will continue to do so today. We will still not reach the full goal, and not everyone will make it home for Christmas, says Equinor spokesperson Ellen Maria Skjelsbæk. According to her, there will be a couple of hundred oil workers and it is uncertain when they will all get ashore again. This applies to workers who will fly to Flesland. Air traffic is mostly running as normal. There have been reports of little delays in air traffic. – There is little traffic today. We are well staffed for plowing and de-icing aircraft. We are prepared for the day today, says communications manager Cathrine Flugesang Framholt at Bergen Lufthamn Flesland. At Værnes airport in Trondheim and Gardemoen in Oslo, air traffic is also running largely as it should.
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Snow and wind on Christmas Eve can cause challenging driving conditions in both the north and west – news Vestland
