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Storm Otto subsides but travel delayed and thousands left without power

The worst of Storm Otto seems to have subsided on Saturday morning, with some travel tentatively restarting but thousands left without power and icy conditions set to linger on.

Published: 18 February 2023 10:59 CET
Storm Otto subsides but travel delayed and thousands left without power
Photo: Morten Stricker/TT

The worst of Storm Otto, which battered Scandinavia on Friday evening, seems to have passed and will now blow further east and move over the Baltics, according to SMHI, Sweden’s meteorological agency.

The storm, which reached wind speeds of 145km/h (90mph), led to blocks of flats being evacuated in Denmark for fear they might collapse, the closure of the Øresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark, and the cancellation of Norwegian ferry services.

But by Saturday morning, conditions had improved enough for the SMHI to lift its orange warning and the Øresund Bridge was reopened to traffic just before 03:00, according to the official website. In the early hours of Saturday morning, Denmark’s Meteorological Institute, the DMI, advised that its weather warning for winds had ended.

However, power outages and traffic problems are expected across Sweden and Denmark as icy conditions are set to linger, with air traffic expected to be delayed at Copenhagen Airport throughout the weekend.

Travel

Despite the storm easing across Sweden, several train routes are still canceled in both Skåne and along the west coast.

Öresundstågen writes on its website that according to the forecast, traffic should be able to resume at around noon. Several SJ trains are also canceled on the route between Gothenburg and Malmö.

Train travel also resumed early on Saturday morning. On Skånetrafiken’s website, it reports that the first train from Malmö to Copenhagen Airport departed at 03.33.

The first train from Copenhagen Airport to Malmö departed at 04.02.

On the roads, winds have died down enough that there are no longer any concerns about letting so-called ‘wind-sensitive’ vehicles, namely largely vehicles such as trucks and trailers, travel over the Øresund Bridge.

Air traffic at Copenhagen Airport will be affected for the rest of the weekend as a result of Friday’s storm, according to Lars Lemche, press officer at Copenhagen Airport.

“It will probably affect the whole weekend, but especially Saturday,” Lemche said on Saturday morning.

Several flights scheduled to land in Copenhagen on Friday were instead forced to redirect to Amsterdam or Berlin. As a result, Saturday’s air traffic program has been rescheduled due to a number of aircraft and crews not being where they were scheduled to be on Saturday morning.

“If you are going to travel, you must arm yourself with extra patience and make sure you stay informed,” Lemche added.

Traffic concerns

On the roads in Sweden, though the SMHI has lifted its orange warning it has maintained a yellow warning in parts of northern Götaland and central and southwestern Svealand, as there is a risk of ice on the roads with traffic problems as a result. Fallen trees are also expected to cause delays on the roads.

SMHI has also issued a yellow warning in Halland and the north-western Skåne coast, where strong winds are expected to cause high water levels.

Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT
 

Power outages

Thousands in Sweden have been left without power after the storm battered the electricity grid. For some households, power is not expected to return until Sunday.

During the night, over 11,000 households were without power in large parts of Götaland. Shortly after 07:00, approximately 7,800 of Eon’s customers are still without power, according to the energy company. Worst hit is Skåne, where over 5,000 are without power.

“We are in a difficult situation. We hope to be able to fix this during the day. There are many trees that have ended up on wires. We therefore have to remove trees and put up new lines. The goal is for everyone to get power back this evening, but several may be without power tomorrow,” Peter Hjalmar, regional manager for Eon, explained.

Hjalmar also warned the public to stay away from fallen power lines: “If you are out walking and see a downed power line, you should not go near it but report it to us,” he added.

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WILDFIRES

IN MAPS: How big is the current wildfire risk in Sweden?

There's currently a risk of wildfires throughout almost all of Sweden, with the threat of forest fires in southern and central parts of the country, and grass fires in the north, forecaster SMHI has warned.

Published: 23 May 2024 11:50 CEST
IN MAPS: How big is the current wildfire risk in Sweden?

How dry are Sweden’s forests?

On May 23rd, large areas south of Gävle were rated as “dry” in the map below, prepared by Sweden’s state-run surveyor Lantmäteriet for the state meteorologist SMHI and the Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB).

The map, captured just before noon on May 23rd, shows the bränsleuttorkning, or fuel dryness, an estimate of how much dry, burnable leaves and branches are on forest floors in Sweden. 

The colour code ranges from dark blue (very wet) to red (extremely dry). The dryest areas on this map, in orange, are listed as 4 on a six point scale (dry). Yellow areas are listed as 3 (moderately wet).

You can find an interactive version of the map here.

The assessment of the amount of dry wood in Sweden’s forests on May 23rd. Graphic: Lantmäteriet/SMHI

The surveyor also prepares a second map for SMHI and MSB showing the risk of forest fire assessed using the FWI (Fire Weather Index), an index created in Canada which combines measures of air humidity, temperature, 24-hour precipitation and wind speed. 

This shows that a lot of areas are already at an “extremely high risk of a forest fire” (red), a “very high risk” (dark orange) or “at risk” (orange). 

The Fire Weather Index map for Sweden on May 23rd. Graphic: Lantmäteriet

There is also a large or very large risk of grass fires on May 23rd in the north of Sweden, particularly north of Umeå and along the border with Norway. The green areas are where the grass fire season has already ended. Yellow areas have a “moderate risk”, light orange have a “high risk” and dark orange have a “very high risk” of grass fires. Light grey areas, which are mainly in mountain regions, are still covered in snow.

Grass fire risk for the afternoon of May 23rd. Graphic: Lantmäteriet

What measures are in place in Sweden?

Many municipalities in Skåne, Blekinge and Småland have already put fire bans in place, preventing people from lighting fires or barbecues outside. 

A map by Krisinformation.se (an official website which publishes emergency information from Swedish authorities), which can be found in English, shows which parts of Sweden have a fire ban in place, but it doesn’t go into specifics.

Below are the municipalities with fire bans in place on May 23rd – be aware that this may change, and always make sure to check Krisinformation.se’s website for the most up to date information before planning a barbecue or similar.

To find out exactly what applies in your area, click on your municipality on the map on Krisinformation.se’s website and then “more info”.

The link will take you to the homepage of whoever issued the fire ban, but it usually doesn’t take you directly to an explanation of what fire rules currently apply there, so you have to do a bit of digging.

Most municipalities and county administrative boards publish current fire bans quite prominently on their websites, though, sometimes as a banner at the top.

Some publish the information in English, but that’s far from always the case, so if you don’t speak Swedish you may have to run the text through a translation tool.

What other precautions can you take to avoid the risks?

Bear in mind that even if you do comply with local fire rules to the letter, you are always responsible for what happens to any fire you light, so you need to take proper precautions and be confident that there’s no risk of it spreading.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED – What do Sweden’s fire bans mean?

Make sure the grill is set up on a flat surface away from any grass, trees, sheds or anything else that could catch fire easily. Keep a bucket of water nearby, never leave the fire unattended, and make sure it’s completely extinguished before you leave.

It’s worth also consulting weather agency SMHI’s map of the risk of wildfires, which is separate from the map of fire bans. If you live in an area where there’s currently a high risk of wildfires, be extra careful before lighting a fire, even if there aren’t any official bans in place.

You could also download the Swedish Civil Contingencies’ free app Brandrisk ute (“Fire Danger Outdoors”), which will give you up-to-date information in English on the risk of wildfires in your area. It’s available both for iPhone and Android.

Is there a risk of water shortages? 

In many parts of the northernmost half of the country, the opposite is the case – ground water levels in small watercourses across much of Sweden north of Gävle are high or unusually high compared to the average level in 1961 to 2023 (light green, green and dark green in map below). In central Sweden, they are high or relatively high, while they are at normal levels in the south, apart from the border between Halland and Småland, where they are relatively low.

Ground water levels in small watercourses are currently high or very high compared to the average level in 1961 to 2023 (light green, green and dark green in map to the left) in most of northern Sweden, at about normal levels (light blue) across most of central Sweden, and low in the south of Västra Götaland, Halland, Småland, parts of Blekinge and Skane. 

Groundwater levels in Sweden on May 21st, 2024, compared to the average for the period 1961-2023. Graphic: Geological Survey of Sweden

Comparing groundwater water levels to the same week in 1961 to 2023, it’s normal (green on the map below) above normal (light blue) or far above normal (dark blue) across the vast majority of the country, apart from a pocket in Småland, where it is below normal (yellow) or far below normal (red), so it doesn’t look like there is currently a risk of drought or water shortages.

Water levels in small watercourses on May 21st, 2024 compared with the same week in 1961-2023. Graphic: Geological Survey of Sweden
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