A few windy days are expected in Sweden and SMHI and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency have issued a series of warnings - including for a high avalanche risk.
The worst weather will be in parts of the mountains where you should consider whether it is really wise to go out.
”"There will be several windy days ahead and it will only calm down around Wednesday morning," says Maria Svedestig, on-call meteorologist at SMHI, to TT on Sunday afternoon.
Class 1 warnings for very strong winds have been issued for the northern and southern Lapland mountains, the Jämtland mountains and the Härjedal mountains. Wind speeds will gradually increase during Sunday evening.
”"Tomorrow evening it will be really windy. Then there is a risk of really strong gusts of wind that in the Jämtland mountains and southern Lapland mountains will likely reach storm force," says Svedestig.
”"In combination with the fact that we get a front with precipitation, the cooling effect is quite large. It starts out as snow but turns into quite a lot of rain," she continues.
Svedestig points out that the combination of low temperatures, very wet precipitation and strong winds is not good for those who spend time outdoors.
TT: Should you think about it before going out into these mountain areas?
”"Yes, I think you should be very careful about going out into the mountains unless you absolutely have to," Svedestig answers.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's avalanche service warns that the weather has increased the risk of avalanches in the western Vindelfjällen mountains and in Abisko/Riksgränsfjällen to a four on a five-point scale. This means "high avalanche danger" and very dangerous conditions on or under steep slopes in areas outside ski resorts.
In the southern Jämtland Mountains, the avalanche danger is ”significant”, which is a third on the scale. The southern Lapland Mountains and western Härjedal Mountains have a second on the scale, which is referred to as ”moderate avalanche danger.”.
The same weather system also means that class 1 warnings have been issued for sudden ice slips throughout Jämtland County, Västerbotten County, Västernorrland County, the Härjedal Mountains and the coastal areas of Norrbotten County.
”"It's about rain on cold road surfaces. In Västerbotten there may also be elements of freezing rain," says Svedestig.
Gale warnings have been issued for the Skagerrak, southeastern Baltic Sea, Gulf of Finland, northern Bothnian Sea, northern Kvarken and the Gulf of Bothnia.
It looks like the strong winds will continue until Wednesday, and the cause can be found over the North Atlantic.
”There are really juicy low pressures there,” says Svedestig.
Source: TT
