Hurricane-force winds cause disruption in north Norway
Schools and bridges have been closed while busses and ferries have been cancelled in parts of northern Norway due to strong winds on Wednesday.
Gusts of up to nearly 40 metres per second have been recorded in Lofoten, north Norway on Wednesday morning with extreme weather causing disruption across the region.
These hurricane-force winds, gusts stronger than 32.6 metres a second are considered hurricane force, mean several schools in the region and a number of bridges have closed. Gimsøybrua, Kåkernbrua and Raftsundbrua in Lofoten and Vesterålen were some of the bridges closed to traffic on Wednesday morning.
The majority of the bridges in the area close automatically when winds above a certain speed are detected. Road traffic is also affected in the form of bus services being cancelled, while all ferry services to and from Lofoten have been suspended.
However, flights in northern Norway have resumed, after several departures in the north were cancelled by airline Widerøe on Tuesday.
Norway’s postal service, Posten, has suspended deliveries in the area due to the weather. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has issued several weather warnings as a lot of rain and wind is expected in parts of Nordland and Troms. There is also a high risk of avalanches in Tromsø and Lyngen and Troms and Finnmark.
Oransje farevarsel: det ventes også svært kraftige vindkast i Lofoten, Vesterålen og deler av Troms onsdag 💨
Det ventes vindkast på 33-38 m/s fra sør og sørvest, og storm i middelvind.
Ellers gjelder gule farevarsler om vindkast (27-33 m/s) for store deler av Nord-Norge ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/7akTzcAUIJ
— Meteorologene (@Meteorologene) February 7, 2023
“It's really a day to stay at home as much as possible and not go out and drive. It is a good idea to secure items. It is good to make an extra check that nothing is loose. In that case, there is a big chance that it will blow away,” Asgier Jordbru, emergency manager for Nordland County, told NRK.
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Gusts of up to nearly 40 metres per second have been recorded in Lofoten, north Norway on Wednesday morning with extreme weather causing disruption across the region.
These hurricane-force winds, gusts stronger than 32.6 metres a second are considered hurricane force, mean several schools in the region and a number of bridges have closed. Gimsøybrua, Kåkernbrua and Raftsundbrua in Lofoten and Vesterålen were some of the bridges closed to traffic on Wednesday morning.
The majority of the bridges in the area close automatically when winds above a certain speed are detected. Road traffic is also affected in the form of bus services being cancelled, while all ferry services to and from Lofoten have been suspended.
However, flights in northern Norway have resumed, after several departures in the north were cancelled by airline Widerøe on Tuesday.
Norway’s postal service, Posten, has suspended deliveries in the area due to the weather. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has issued several weather warnings as a lot of rain and wind is expected in parts of Nordland and Troms. There is also a high risk of avalanches in Tromsø and Lyngen and Troms and Finnmark.
Oransje farevarsel: det ventes også svært kraftige vindkast i Lofoten, Vesterålen og deler av Troms onsdag 💨
— Meteorologene (@Meteorologene) February 7, 2023
Det ventes vindkast på 33-38 m/s fra sør og sørvest, og storm i middelvind.
Ellers gjelder gule farevarsler om vindkast (27-33 m/s) for store deler av Nord-Norge ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/7akTzcAUIJ
“It's really a day to stay at home as much as possible and not go out and drive. It is a good idea to secure items. It is good to make an extra check that nothing is loose. In that case, there is a big chance that it will blow away,” Asgier Jordbru, emergency manager for Nordland County, told NRK.
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