Late-comer Åse Hansen had big problems when she had to open the exit door in the early morning. Large amounts of snow blocked the door, as a result of the polar low pressure that is ravaging northern Norway. – The best excuse in the world to stay at home today?, she writes on Facebook. 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. – The roads are impassable in places and the teachers are therefore unable to 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. 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 Road Traffic Center 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: The meteorologists 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 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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– The world’s best excuse to stay at home – news Troms and Finnmark
