Weather chaos paralyzes Sweden: weather service speaks of "snow cannons"

Created: 2022-11-24 04:55

By: Martina Lippl

Heavy snowfall in Sweden caused chaos.

Stockholm was particularly affected.

The Swedish weather service speaks of "snow cannons".

Stockholm – It has been snowing in large parts of Sweden without a break since the weekend.

Record levels have fallen in southern Sweden and near Stockholm.

58 centimeters of snow were measured on Monday (November 21) on the Östgöta coast.

The heavy snowfall caused chaos in the Swedish capital Stockholm.

Because of the snow masses, trains and buses stopped working at times.

The white splendor also caused problems at the airport.

A number of flights were only able to take off with a delay, and many were canceled immediately.

Snow chaos in Sweden: Stockholm sinks in the snow in a short time

Difficult road conditions prevailed in many parts of the country because of the onset of winter, the Swedish traffic authority warned.

3,000 students in the cities of Trollhättan and Vänersborg north of Gothenburg received distance learning on Monday.

Freeing the traffic routes from snow was a challenge for the clearing services.

The snow was particularly wet and heavy.

"The snowy weather isn't stopping, it's coming back in spurts.

We have to start clearing from the beginning again and again.

It will remain so for the rest of the day," a spokesman for the transport authority told Swedish television station SVT.

Heavy snowfall in Stockholm: A man tries to free his car from a parking lot.

© ANDERS WIKLUND/afp

The Swedish Weather Service expects more snowfall until Tuesday

The Swedish weather service SMHI continues to expect heavy snowfall.

But on Tuesday, the situation should ease up over the course of the day.

The onset of winter in the north is not unusual in itself, but the weather in Sweden is currently changing particularly quickly, the SMHI explains on its website.

Last weekend there was a heat record for this season, which has now been replaced by heavy snowfall over the Baltic Sea landscape.

Heavy snowfall in Sweden: the weather service names the cause

The conditions for heavy snow flurries that form over the sea were favorable: temperatures in the Baltic Sea are still fairly high and the air in the atmosphere is significantly colder.

The result: Sometimes the piles of snow collected in special lines, so-called "snow cannons", according to the weather service.

November snowstorms had already occurred at the beginning of November 2016: 39 centimeters of snow were officially measured in Stockholm at the time, unofficially even 47 centimeters.

A snowstorm on November 17, 1995, with a snow depth of 98 centimeters, still holds the record for Götaland, the weather service reports.

However, the snowfall at that time came from the west and not from the Baltic Sea.

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Snow on the East Coast of the USA - "Lake Effect"

The USA and Canada are also affected by heavy snowfall this year.

15 centimeters per hour fell in the US state of New York.

Again, the warm water in the Great Lakes between the US and Canada is responsible for the "snow cannons".

Humidity rises and extremely cold air moves across Lake Erie.

Due to the so-called "Lake Effect", huge amounts of snow have fallen in a short time.

The weather has since calmed down.

Mountains of snow are piling up in the area, as seen in videos posted on social media.

But the sun is shining again.