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WEATHER

Western Sweden caught in downpour

Rain has been pouring down over Dalsland and southern Värmland in western Sweden over the weekend. In Åmål, around 100 properties have been flooded and the Swedish Road Administration (Vägverket) was forced to close several roads in the area on Saturday.

Western Sweden caught in downpour

“We have had more than 100 millimetres of rain since yesterday,” said Anders Olsson, head of the Åmål fire and rescue services.

“Right when I thought it would let up, it started raining again and became even worse than before. It was unbelievable,” said Rolf Bergström, the municipal official who has led the campaign to stop the flooding in Åmål.

He explained that the entire town has been affected by flooding and that the cellars of more than 100 residences had filled with water.

“There are more than than two decimetres of water in these houses,” he said.

The traffic management dispatch in Gothenburg faced a hectic Saturday. Several roads in southern Värmland and Dalsland were closed, and even more were covered in water. Reports from southern Värmland also indicate that several roads might be undermined, which could lead to landslide.

“These are mainly smaller roads around Säffle, Åmål and southwestern Värmland. But the E45 motorway and several municipal roads are also covered with water in some places,” said Daniel Gustafsson of the Gothenburg traffic management dispatch.

Meteorologist Linnea Rehn of the SMHI meteorological agency confirmed the amount of rain the area has been extreme.

“It’s moving northeast and will leave the region sometime during the late evening or night,” she said on Saturday evening.

During the night, the storm was expected to move towards Svealand and southern Norrland in central Sweden and could cause powerful showers, although not to the same extent as previously.

According to SMHI, the rain will cease entirely on Sunday, with the exception of a few scattered showers.

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WEATHER

Denmark records deepest snow level for 13 years

Blizzards in Denmark this week have resulted in the greatest depth of snow measured in the country for 13 years.

Denmark records deepest snow level for 13 years

A half-metre of snow, measured at Hald near East Jutland town Randers, is the deepest to have occurred in Denmark since January 2011, national meteorological agency DMI said.

The measurement was taken by the weather agency at 8am on Thursday.

Around 20-30 centimetres of snow was on the ground across most of northern and eastern Jutland by Thursday, as blizzards peaked resulting in significant disruptions to traffic and transport.

A much greater volume of snow fell in 2011, however, when over 100 centimetres fell on Baltic Sea island Bornholm during a post-Christmas blizzard, which saw as much as 135 centimetres on Bornholm at the end of December 2010.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s January storms could be fourth extreme weather event in three months

With snowfall at its heaviest for over a decade, Wednesday saw a new rainfall record. The 59 millimetres which fell at Svendborg on the island of Funen was the most for a January day in Denmark since 1886. Some 9 weather stations across Funen and Bornholm measured over 50cm of rain.

DMI said that the severe weather now looks to have peaked.

“We do not expect any more weather records to be set in the next 24 hours. But we are looking at some very cold upcoming days,” DMI meteorologist and press spokesperson Herdis Damberg told news wire Ritzau.

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