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SCHOOLS

Snow keeps Danish children home from school days after reopening

Danish island Bornholm is covered in large amounts of snow this week, resulting in school closures days after Covid-19 restrictions were eased.

Snow keeps Danish children home from school days after reopening
Snow on Bornholm on Tuesday. Photo: Pelle Rink/Ritzau Scanpix

“The snowy weather, among other things, has meant that not all of the youngest students could come back physically to school this week,” said Hasse Hallberg, operations manager with the Bornholm municipality.

On Monday, children in grades 0 to 4 were allowed to come back to school in person. All other current coronavirus restrictions will remain in place until at least February 28th.

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Unfortunately, snow has now made it impossible for children who take the bus to get to school in Bornholm.

“Our school buses could simply not carry the children safely enough or move through the small country roads,” Hallberg said.

“Those that live in the towns, of course are going to school, but it has not been possible to drive on the school bus routes this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,” he added.

Authorities have struggled to keep up with the severe weather and have focused on clearing the larger roads often without enough time or capacity for the smaller country roads, news wire Ritzau reports.

“We get to the small roads when we have the capacity for it. But there is not much available capacity when there is a snow storm and we have gotten 25 centimeters of snow and wind that is blowing at 12 meters per second,” Hallberg said.

There are nearly 1,120 kilometres of road on Bornholm, Hallberg said, noting that snow removal is a large task.

“But this is not new for the winter service on Bornholm because we have had snow storms before, so we are really well prepared,” he said.
 

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WEATHER

What do Denmark’s weather warnings actually mean?

Denmark's weather agency issues warnings for potentially dangerous weather, on a three-point scale. What does the weather alert system mean, and what should you do if there's a warning?

What do Denmark's weather warnings actually mean?

The Danish Meteorological Institute, DMI, uses three different warning categories for dangerous weather, with category 3 being the most dangerous.

The warnings could relate to severe rain or snow, icy conditions or conditions caused by a combination of things like snow drifts, which occur when strong winds move loose snow. High winds and storms can also give weather alerts, as can very hot weather.

DMI also sometimes issues alerts ahead of other, more unusual weather events like storm surges, which cause flooding.

Category 1: Severe weather (Voldsomt vejr)

Be aware that weather conditions can affect your surroundings and outdoor activities.

Category 2: Hazardous weather (Farligt vejr)

Be prepared for weather conditions to affect your surroundings and disrupt traffic. Follow the authorities’ advice and be extra careful when you’re out and about.

Category 3: Very hazardous weather (Meget farligt vejr)

Follow the advice of the authorities. Be prepared that there is a high risk that weather conditions may affect you and your surroundings and disrupt day-to-day activities.

This category often comes with a warning to stay at home if possible.

Key weather vocabulary to be aware of

Snow (Sne

Kraftigt snefald, snestorm, snefygning

Heavy snowfall, blizzard, snow drift

When DMI warns of a snowstorm (blizzard), you should not go outside unnecessarily. Heavy snowfall (kraftigt snefald) reduces visibility and disrupts traffic, with smaller roads at risk of being closed. There is also a risk that public transport is delayed or stops running. 

A snow drift (snefygning) can lead to the rapid closure of exposed roads, reduced visibility and public transport cancellations.

Ice (Is):
 
Glatføre, isslag, isdøgn
 
Slippery, widespread ice, ice day (a 24-hour period under freezing temperatures)
 
If ground ice or black ice has become widespread within a certain location or region, DMI may advise staying inside if possible.

Wind (Vind)

Orkan, storm, stormende kuling, vindstød

Hurricane, storm, gale-force winds, gust of wind

Rain (Regn):

Nedbør, kraftig regn, langvarig regn, oversvømmelser, vandstand, bølger

Precipitation, heavy rain, prolonged rain, flooding, water level, waves

Storm (Torden)

Torden og skybrud, stormstyrker, strøm, lufttryk

Thunderstorm, storm strength, power, air pressure

Fog (Tåge)

Tæt tåge

Dense fog

Temperature (Temperatur)

Havtemperatur, hedebølge, kuldebølge, tropenat

Sea temperature, heatwave, cold wave, tropical night

Where can I find out more?

You can keep up to date with DMI’s current weather alerts via this link.

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