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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

Norway to get a taste of summer with 20C days this week

Summer is finally here! Or least it is if you live in southern Norway, where a warm front coming up from Europe will bring t-shirt temperatures of 20C by Thursday, according to forecasts.

Norway to get a taste of summer with 20C days this week

Warm air from southern Europe will combine with a high pressure zone which will bring clear skies and sunshine, with summery weather coming towards the end of the week, Norway’s national weather forecaster Yr has reported. 

“Thursday and Friday especially will be nice,” Ingrid Villa, a meteorologist at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, told the public broadcaster NRK. “Then we will probably get temperatures of over 20 degrees Celsius in some places.” 

Patches of 20C warmth are expected both in western Norway around Bergen and in Western Norway around Oslo, with the area around Tromsø expected to have slightly cooler weather, although Villa said that “it will absolutely be something like summer there too”. 

The warm sunny weather is, however, expected to pass northern Norway by, with grey overcast skies expected for much of this week. 

But if you think summer has come to Norway to stay, you risk disappointment as much cooler temperatures are expected next week.  

“There’s nothing unusual in getting an early taste of summer in April and the start of May, and then we can quickly go back to cooler more spring-like weather,” Villa said. 

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