Severe storm over Western Norway

Severe StormRough seas. Photo: Pixabay.com

A severe storm has reached Western Norway

A severe storm has reached Western Norway on Wednesday evening. Ferry departures are cancelled, bridges closed, trampolines are airborne and window panes are broken. People are encouraged to stay indoors. The good news is that it provides this reporter with time to spread the information.

 

A restaurant in Os suffered a broken window pane after the wind hurled several pieces of outdoor furniture at the window. Wind speeds were measured to 28 metres per second (54 knots) on the Sotra bridge. This leads to manual inspection of vehicles that cross the bridge, which can be closed for traffic at very short notice.

Several ferry routes in Hordaland have been closed Wednesday evening, or have reduced capacity due to the strong wind.

There are also several reports of trees that have blown down across roads and trampolines that have been displaced by the wind. In Bergen, a trampoline landed on a rooftop at Sollien.

Severe storm

According to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, there is a severe storm in the North Sea, and the rainfall has followed suit. A strong gale has been reported on the Røldal Mountain and Myrkdalen (in Hordaland), and at Utsira lighthouse and Røvær (in Rogaland). The wind will increase further throughout the evening and into the night on Thursday.

The Meteorological Institute early on Wednesday upgraded the warning level to orange for Rogaland and East of the Norwegian mountain range, which is the second highest level on the scale ranging from green, via yellow and orange to red. Gusts of wind of between 30 and 40 metres per second (hurricane) are expected, and people are encouraged to remain outdoors only if it is essential to do so.

not surprisingly, the strong wind will reach hurricane level at Stad, reports Yr. The wind will be as strong in gusts both south and north of this area northwest in Sogn and Fjordane. For the rest of Western Norway, the hazard warning is at level yellow.

Secure loose items

– We are expecting this wind to cause a few problems. Bridges can be closed and ferries can be cancelled. In addition, objects with large surface areas, trampolines and trees that are full of leaves can be in danger. It’s important to take this seriously, says state meteorologist Geir Ottar Fagerlid.

Even Eastern Norway will make their acquaintance with the storm. Along the Oslo Fjord, it will blow a strong gale on Wednesday evening and the night before Thursday. People with small vessels are encouraged not to take it out on a trip. Eastern Norway will experience even more wind on Friday.

The police have warned people to secure loose objects and scaffolding.

Moves northwards

The bad weather came to Hordaland, Sogn and Fjordane & Møre and Romsdal as a full storm on Wednesday night. At Stad, it is expected that the wind will reach hurricane levels on Wednesday night and the night before Thursday. Thereafter it moves towards Trøndelag and Northern Norway, which will experience a full storm on Thursday morning and through the rest of the day.

On Friday, another storm is in store, mainly from Rogaland in the southwest via the south of Norway to Telemark before reaching Eastern Norway. This storm has is at the orange level as well. The strongest wind is expected near the coast and in the mountains, with gusts of between 30 and 40 metres per second, ie a hurricane.

Cancellations

The Pride of Bergen, “Statsraad Lehmkuhl”, which was on its way to Shetland, decided on Tuesday evening to about turn and return to Norway to dock before the storm arrived. On board, there are 162 persons, of whom 138 are students from the Nordfjord People’s High School NRK reports.

The Widerøe airline has cancelled several flights and redirected others. The Road Traffic Centre states that the Måløy Bridge in Vågsøy and the Rugsund Bridge in Bremanger in Sogn and Fjordane is closed as of Wednesday afternoon. These bridges are automatically closed at strong winds.

Facts about windspeed

Conversion between Knots, Beaufort, m/s and km/h

Beaufort Knots m/s km/h mph Label
0 1 0 – 0.2 1 1 Calm
1 1-3 0.3-1.5 1-5 1-3 Light Air
2 4-6 1.6-3.3 6-11 4-7 Light Breeze
3 7-10 3.4-5.4 12-19 8-12 Gentle Breeze
4 11-15 5.5-7.9 20-28 13-17 Moderate Breeze
5 16-21 8.0-10.7 29-38 18-24 Fresh Breeze
6 22-27 10.8-13.8 39-49 25-30 strong Breeze
7 28-33 13.9-17.1 50-61 31-38 Near Gale
8 34-40 17.2-20.7 62-74 39-46 Gale
9 41-47 20.8-24.4 75-88 47-54 Severe Gale
10 48-55 24.5-28.4 89-102 55-63 Strong storm
11 56-63 28.5-32.6 103-117 64-73 Violent Storm
12 64-71 >32.7 >118 >74 Hurricane

Wind speed table: Effects

Knots Label Effect on sea Effects on land
1 Calm Sea like a mirror Calm. Smoke rises vertically.
1-3 Light Air Ripples with the appearance of scales are formed but without foam crests Wind motion visible in smoke.
4-6 Light Breeze Small wavelets, still short, but more pronounced. Crests have a glassy appearance and do not break. Wind felt on exposed skin. Leaves rustle.
7-10 Gentle Breeze Large wavelets. Crests begin to break. A foam of glassy appearance. Perhaps scattered white horses. Leaves and smaller twigs in constant motion.
11-15 Moderate Breeze Small waves, becoming larger; fairly frequent white horses. Dust and loose paper rise. Small branches begin to move.
16-21 Fresh Breeze Moderate waves, taking a more pronounced long form; many white horses are formed. Chance of some spray. Branches of a moderate size move. Small trees begin to sway.
22-27 strong Breeze Large waves begin to form; the white foam crests are more extensive everywhere. Probably some spray. Large branches in motion. Whistling heard in overhead wires. Umbrella use becomes difficult. Empty plastic garbage cans tip over.
28-33 Near Gale Sea heaps up and white foam from breaking waves begins to be blown in streaks along the direction of the wind. Whole trees in motion. An effort is needed to head into the wind. Swaying of skyscrapers may be felt, especially by people on upper floors.
34-40 Gale Moderately high waves of greater length; edges of crests begin to break into spindrift. The foam is blown in well-marked streaks along the direction of the wind. Twigs broken from trees. Cars veer on road.
41-47 Severe Gale High waves. Dense streaks of foam along the direction of the wind. Crests of waves begin to topple, tumble and roll over. Seaspray may affect visibility. Larger branches break off trees, and some small trees blow over. Construction/temporary signs and barricades blow over. Damage to circus tents and canopies.
48-55 Strong storm Very high waves with long overhanging crests. The resulting foam, in great patches, is blown in dense white streaks along the direction of the wind. On the whole, the surface of the sea takes on a white appearance. The ‘tumbling’ of the sea becomes heavy and shock-like. Visibility affected. Trees are broken off or uprooted, saplings bent and deformed, poorly attached asphalt shingles and shingles in poor condition peel off roofs.
56-63 Violent Storm Exceptionally high waves (small and medium-size ships might disappear behind the waves). The sea is completely covered with long white patches of foam flying in the direction of the wind. Everywhere the edges of the wave crests are blown into froth. Visibility affected. Widespread vegetation damage. More damage to most roofing surfaces, asphalt tiles that have curled up and/or fractured due to age may break away completely.
64-71 Hurricane The air is filled with foam and spray. Sea completely white with driving spray; visibility very seriously affected. Considerable and widespread damage to vegetation, a few windows are broken, structural damage to mobile homes and poorly constructed sheds and barns. Debris may be hurled about.

 

Source: windfinder.com

 

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