Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Sweden's E22 road still closed to traffic after snow gridlock, interpreter warned after turning up to trial drunk, and when will temperatures rise again? Here's the latest news.
Sweden’s snow gridlock road still closed to traffic
Evacuation efforts on southern Sweden’s E22 road – where around 1,000 vehicles were stuck for almost two days in gridlock caused by heavy snowfall – were completed on Thursday, but the road won’t reopen until at least 1pm, reports news agency TT.
The Local spoke with one truck driver who was freed after 20 hours.
The road had originally been set to reopen at 4am, but damages to the median strip barrier, which was cut open by rescue services to help vehicles get out, turned out to be greater than previously thought.
Police, emergency services, traffic authorities and the Armed Forces were all dispatched to the scene in southern Sweden, where the incident started on Wednesday morning when trucks slowly ground to a halt on the snowy and slippery road. Then as more cars got stuck behind them, the snow kept building up to the point where no one could get anywhere.
Some people had to be picked up by ambulance and many others of those who received help were described as cold, hungry and tired. No serious injuries have however so far been reported.
Swedish vocabulary: snowfall – snöfall
Swedish interpreter warned after turning up drunk to trial
An interpreter who was supposed to assist during a hearing at a court in Gothenburg has received a formal warning after she turned up heavily inebriated, reports the Sydöstran newspaper.
According to the interpreter herself, she had consumed whisky.
She has now been warned by Kammarkollegiet, Sweden’s legal, financial and administrative services agency, which among other things authorises interpreters.
The interpreter, who is said to be very experienced, has not commented on the incident.
Swedish vocabulary: an interpreter – en tolk
When will Sweden get warmer again?
The big freeze is still clinging on in northern Sweden, with Kvikkjokk-Årrenjarka in the far north still the coldest spot in the country. It recorded temperatures of -43.1C on Thursday morning.
But temperatures are expected to rise later this week.
“It looks like we’ll get around 20-30 below freezing during the weekend and then single digits or even degrees above zero next week,” SMHI meteorologist Emma Rosengren told TT.
Southern Sweden, which is cold but admittedly not quite as cold as the north, can expect the mercury to stay below zero over the weekend and then slowly edge upwards next week.
Swedish vocabulary: a week – en vecka
Power back on after households plunged into darkness in -40C
Power has returned to the municipality of Älvsbyn in northern Sweden, after around 3,000 households were left without electricity for hours on Thursday in temperatures of almost -40C.
Preschools had to close on Thursday and elderly care homes had to rely on their backup power units. Food to municipality-owned services was served cold, as it could not be cooked.
Health workers who assist elderly people in their homes also struggled to get around, as pumps at petrol stations weren’t working. And without engine heaters – which preheat cars to make the engine easier to start, but run on electricity – some cars failed to start in the cold weather.
“Things can’t be so vulnerable that an entire community is almost knocked out. Not being able to communicate with each other has made it harder,” council chief Anna Lindberg told TT.
Swedish vocabulary: a power outage – ett strömavbrott
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Sweden’s snow gridlock road still closed to traffic
Evacuation efforts on southern Sweden’s E22 road – where around 1,000 vehicles were stuck for almost two days in gridlock caused by heavy snowfall – were completed on Thursday, but the road won’t reopen until at least 1pm, reports news agency TT.
The Local spoke with one truck driver who was freed after 20 hours.
The road had originally been set to reopen at 4am, but damages to the median strip barrier, which was cut open by rescue services to help vehicles get out, turned out to be greater than previously thought.
Police, emergency services, traffic authorities and the Armed Forces were all dispatched to the scene in southern Sweden, where the incident started on Wednesday morning when trucks slowly ground to a halt on the snowy and slippery road. Then as more cars got stuck behind them, the snow kept building up to the point where no one could get anywhere.
Some people had to be picked up by ambulance and many others of those who received help were described as cold, hungry and tired. No serious injuries have however so far been reported.
Swedish vocabulary: snowfall – snöfall
Swedish interpreter warned after turning up drunk to trial
An interpreter who was supposed to assist during a hearing at a court in Gothenburg has received a formal warning after she turned up heavily inebriated, reports the Sydöstran newspaper.
According to the interpreter herself, she had consumed whisky.
She has now been warned by Kammarkollegiet, Sweden’s legal, financial and administrative services agency, which among other things authorises interpreters.
The interpreter, who is said to be very experienced, has not commented on the incident.
Swedish vocabulary: an interpreter – en tolk
When will Sweden get warmer again?
The big freeze is still clinging on in northern Sweden, with Kvikkjokk-Årrenjarka in the far north still the coldest spot in the country. It recorded temperatures of -43.1C on Thursday morning.
But temperatures are expected to rise later this week.
“It looks like we’ll get around 20-30 below freezing during the weekend and then single digits or even degrees above zero next week,” SMHI meteorologist Emma Rosengren told TT.
Southern Sweden, which is cold but admittedly not quite as cold as the north, can expect the mercury to stay below zero over the weekend and then slowly edge upwards next week.
Swedish vocabulary: a week – en vecka
Power back on after households plunged into darkness in -40C
Power has returned to the municipality of Älvsbyn in northern Sweden, after around 3,000 households were left without electricity for hours on Thursday in temperatures of almost -40C.
Preschools had to close on Thursday and elderly care homes had to rely on their backup power units. Food to municipality-owned services was served cold, as it could not be cooked.
Health workers who assist elderly people in their homes also struggled to get around, as pumps at petrol stations weren’t working. And without engine heaters – which preheat cars to make the engine easier to start, but run on electricity – some cars failed to start in the cold weather.
“Things can’t be so vulnerable that an entire community is almost knocked out. Not being able to communicate with each other has made it harder,” council chief Anna Lindberg told TT.
Swedish vocabulary: a power outage – ett strömavbrott
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