Northern Norway is bracing for extreme weather – derries and planes have canceled departures, roads are closed, and Bardu Municipality set up a crisis team.
“We expect more extreme gusts from 4:00 PM onward,” state meteorologist Eirik Samuelsen told news bureau NTB.
From this afternoon, storms are expected to come in from the east and southeast with extremely strong gusts of between 35 and 50 meters per second, the Meteorological Institute warned earlier in the day.
Extreme gusts are expected in Helgeland, Salten, Ofoten, Sør-Troms, and Nord-Troms, while very strong winds are expected in Namdalen in Trøndelag.
Already on Thursday morning, several weather-related incidents occurred.
Among other things, a wall in an old barn in Leirfjord was blown away, Norland police wrote on Twitter.
Several canceled departures
This morning, several ferry departures at Helgeland were canceled due to strong winds.
In Bodø, there are no departures between Bodø and Væran, while the fast boat between Tromsø, Finnsnes, and Harstad has also been canceled due to the weather conditions.
The same applies to the ferry between Stangnes and Sørrollnes in Sør-Troms.
Closed roads
For motorists, the E6 over Saltfjellet is temporarily closed. In Nordland, E10 Bjørnefjell, E12 Umbukta, and Rv77 Graddis will be closed between 3:00 PM on Thursday and 6:00 PM on Friday due to the storm.
The police in Nordland encourage people to stay at home.
“The combination of strong winds and cold can lead to dangerous situations. Roads and bridges may be closed at short notice due to wind and precipitation. Do not expose yourself or others to unnecessary danger,” the police wrote on Twitter.
Widerøe has canceled flights to Sandessjøen, Mosjøen, and Mo i Rana due to the extreme weather, newspaper VG reports.
Dangerous to be outdoors
Due to the weather conditions, it is very dangerous to move outdoors -gusts of up to 50 meters per second are expected.
The county governor in Nordland asked people to secure loose objects. The message also included a clear call to people to stay at home unless they absolutely have to go out.
“It’s very dangerous. Loose objects can fly through the air and hit you. Among other things, I saw that a truck on the E6 at Helgeland was blown off the road,” state meteorologist Samuelsen added.
“It is not recommended to drive if you do not have to,” Samuelsen noted.
Crisis team
A crisis team has been set up in Bardu municipality ahead of the extreme weather.
According to the Meteorological Institute, the extreme weather will gradually run out of energy on Friday afternoon.
“The extreme gusts will begin to subside to more moderate gusts during Friday afternoon, but it will still blow on Saturday as well.”
Source: #Norway Today, #NorwayTodayNews
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