Chaos on the roads of Sweden and Denmark due to a cold storm that leaves 43 degrees below zero

The Scandinavian countries continue to suffer the effects of the snow storm and extreme temperatures, which has left a new minimum record in the area: 43.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
04 January 2024 Thursday 15:29
7 Reads
Chaos on the roads of Sweden and Denmark due to a cold storm that leaves 43 degrees below zero

The Scandinavian countries continue to suffer the effects of the snow storm and extreme temperatures, which has left a new minimum record in the area: 43.8 degrees below zero in Naimakka (Swedish Lapland), the lowest temperature in January in this Nordic country since 1999, as reported this Friday by the Meteorological Institute.

Significant accumulations of snow keep traffic disrupted in some areas of Sweden and Denmark. One of the most affected has been the E22 highway (southern Sweden), where a thousand people were trapped for almost a day and had to be rescued, and which will remain partially closed to traffic until 12:00 GMT.

However, the reduction in precipitation in the form of snow and the decrease in wind are helping to restore normality on other roads affected by the storm.

In Denmark, the large amount of snow that has fallen in recent days and the ice also continue to make circulation difficult in the west of the country, where in several areas the police still advise against non-essential car trips. In Oslo and other areas of Norway, there are still some problems with road traffic due to snow and ice.

The storm is leaving record-breaking freezing temperatures. In Naimakka (Lapland), the lowest temperature has been recorded since 1999, as reported this Friday by the Swedish Meteorological Institute: 43.8 degrees below zero.

In Finnish Lapland, thermometers registered minus 42.7 degrees at Enontekiö airport, near the border with Norway, the lowest temperature in the last ten years and which has only been reached three times since 2000, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

In Denmark, up to one and a half meters of snow has accumulated in Hald, west of the Jutland peninsula, according to data from that country's meteorological service, the greatest depth recorded in the last 13 years. Furthermore, further east, in the town of Svendborg, 59 millimeters of rain per square meter fell in one day, breaking the record since 1886.