Heavy snow catches Sweden off guard
Heavy snow took drivers in parts of southern and central Sweden by surprise on Tuesday, causing more than 100 accidents in Stockholm county alone.
Road conditions remained slick overnight in large parts of the country as motorists braced for another harrowing commute on Wednesday morning.
Thick snow cover and icy roads caused traffic problems across Sweden throughout the day on Tuesday.
Around 10pm, a truck skidded off the E20 motorway near Gröndal in Södermanland in south central Sweden. No injuries were reported, however.
“Westbound traffic has come to a complete stop. We’ve had to direct traffic ourselves,” said Hans-Erik Åkerlund of the Södermanland police to the TT news agency.
According to Åkerlund, there were around 20 accidents during the evening, but no reports of any serious injuries.
Drivers in the Stockholm area struggled with difficult road conditions as well on Tuesday.
“From six in the morning until now we’ve had 108 accidents,” said Stockholm police spokesperson Thomas Johansson to TT around 9pm on Tuesday.
A violent crash between two cars occurred at 4pm in Hallstavik north of Norrtälje in eastern Sweden, claiming the life of an older man.
According to police, however, most of Tuesday's accidents did not involve serious injuries.
In Västmanland in central Sweden slippery roads caused a number of accidents on Tuesday evening.
“It’s getting worse and worse. Just now we’ve had ten [accidents] in a short period of time,” said Maria Rupla of the Västerås police to TT.
Rupla added, however, that police hadn’t received any reports of serious injuries.
“It’s been snowing all day and it seems to be extremely slick out there, so we’re urging people to drive carefully, or not to drive at all,” she said.
Slippery roads also caused a number of accidents further west in Örebro.
According to forecasts from the Swedish Roads Administration (Vägverket), slick conditions were expected to persist over night and into Wednesday morning in many parts of the country.
In southern and western Sweden, localized patches of ice were expected, while in areas around Lake Mälaren, slickness due to snow was expected to make for treacherous driving in various locations.
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Road conditions remained slick overnight in large parts of the country as motorists braced for another harrowing commute on Wednesday morning.
Thick snow cover and icy roads caused traffic problems across Sweden throughout the day on Tuesday.
Around 10pm, a truck skidded off the E20 motorway near Gröndal in Södermanland in south central Sweden. No injuries were reported, however.
“Westbound traffic has come to a complete stop. We’ve had to direct traffic ourselves,” said Hans-Erik Åkerlund of the Södermanland police to the TT news agency.
According to Åkerlund, there were around 20 accidents during the evening, but no reports of any serious injuries.
Drivers in the Stockholm area struggled with difficult road conditions as well on Tuesday.
“From six in the morning until now we’ve had 108 accidents,” said Stockholm police spokesperson Thomas Johansson to TT around 9pm on Tuesday.
A violent crash between two cars occurred at 4pm in Hallstavik north of Norrtälje in eastern Sweden, claiming the life of an older man.
According to police, however, most of Tuesday's accidents did not involve serious injuries.
In Västmanland in central Sweden slippery roads caused a number of accidents on Tuesday evening.
“It’s getting worse and worse. Just now we’ve had ten [accidents] in a short period of time,” said Maria Rupla of the Västerås police to TT.
Rupla added, however, that police hadn’t received any reports of serious injuries.
“It’s been snowing all day and it seems to be extremely slick out there, so we’re urging people to drive carefully, or not to drive at all,” she said.
Slippery roads also caused a number of accidents further west in Örebro.
According to forecasts from the Swedish Roads Administration (Vägverket), slick conditions were expected to persist over night and into Wednesday morning in many parts of the country.
In southern and western Sweden, localized patches of ice were expected, while in areas around Lake Mälaren, slickness due to snow was expected to make for treacherous driving in various locations.
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