Flooding and ice wreak havoc across Sweden

Freezing conditions in northern Sweden and flooding in the south caused traffic chaos across the country on Sunday.

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Three articulated lorries got stuck this morning in the icy conditions on the E4 motorway outside Härnösand in northern Sweden, severely restricting the southbound traffic.

Trucks carrying sand are on the way and police are present to help the rest of the traffic continue to flow.

The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) has warned travellers about difficult slippery conditions together with ice rain in large parts of central Sweden and further north.

Meanwhile traffic was temporarily halted on three roads in Skåne in southern Sweden on Sunday morning due to flooding, one of which was under a viaduct along the national highway 882 at Stora Uppråkra, south of Lund.

In addition, the E4 motorway from Ljungaskog at Örkelljunga to Yxenhult, south of Markaryd in southern Sweden, and many minor roads around Skåne were flooded for several hours.

Emergency services in Höganäs were out during the night with pumps at dozens of properties which were affected by flooding or in danger due to inrushing thawing water

“Large build ups of water on farmland cannot drain away because of the frost on the ground,” said Marcus Fridlund from the emergency services to TT.

Meanwhile there are warnings of slippery road conditions in Gävleborg County in eastern Sweden and further north.

“There are problems all along the E4 between Gävle and Söderhamn with many accidents,” said Sven-Erik Hammar of the Gävleborg county police to the TT news agency.

“It is raining at the moment up towards Hudiksvall and the implications for that are obvious. In Sandviken too it is very slippery”.

Most of the accidents have occurred when drivers come up to long queues where the traffic is going slowly because of the slippery road conditions. Trucks and salt spreaders are also having trouble.

There are so far no reports of serious injuries but the police are worried that things could get worse this evening as travellers return home from weekend trips to the mountains.

“If you don’t have to go out then it is best to stay in. And if you have to go out then be careful and leave a safe distance” says Sven Erik-Hammar.