SMHI warns that up to 25 centimeters of snow could fall in large parts of Svealand and southern Norrland during the evening.

Arlanda Airport only has one runway open due to the snow.
”"It creates significant delays," says Åsa Öhman, press officer at Swedavia.

Arlanda has switched to so-called single-runway operation due to the heavy snowfall over the Stockholm area.

”"This means that we are using one runway instead of two. The forecast says it will be a few degrees warmer in the evening and then we hope it will subside, but right now there are severe delays at Arlanda," says Åsa Öhman at around 5:30 p.m.

The delays are at least 45 minutes and several departures have been canceled. The airport's snow removal is in full swing.

”"When it snows so heavily, you basically only have time to clear the snow before you have to start again. That means that there are so few flights that can be released and received. It comes in the middle of rush hour," says Åsa Öhman, who urges travelers to keep an eye on the airport's website.

At the same time, the airline Finnair announced in a press release that 41 of their departures on Thursday are canceled. This includes several flights between Stockholm and Helsinki. Finnair will contact affected travelers.

The heavy precipitation is caused by a low pressure system moving over central Sweden.

”In the south it falls mainly as rain, or snow that turns into rain, and in Svealand as snow,” says Moa Hallberg, meteorologist at SMHI.

The most snow, 15 to 25 centimeters, will fall from Dalarna and northwards. In Värmland, between 5 and 15 centimeters of snow will fall, while it will be around 10 centimeters in Örebro, Västmanland, Uppsala and on the Roslagskusten coast.

”"The precipitation will remain a little longer in southern Norrland and disappear during the morning. In Värmland and Örebro it will move away this evening and then it will also turn into rain," says Moa Hallberg.

The rain in the south means that the roads can become icy — and SMHI has issued a class 1 warning for icy conditions.

”"The roads don't warm up as quickly as the air, which means they will still be cold when the rain falls. This means it freezes quickly and becomes slippery," says Moa Hallberg.

Once the low pressure passes, cold air flows in from the north, which will bring freezing temperatures for the rest of the week in most of the country. Above zero temperatures will only occur in the southernmost parts of the country.

”"The weather is getting calmer. Mostly chilly."”

Source: TT