The self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström found himself stuck in snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for 20 hours during the intense weather on Wednesday and Thursday, which he described as the most severe conditions of his 30-year career.
Since the 1990s, Nordström has operated his own freight business. He mistakenly assumed the traffic blockage would have been cleared when he decided to take the E22 on Wednesday. He realized his error along with approximately 1,000 other drivers when he halted near Linderöd at around 1:45 PM.
“I thought the police had already diverted traffic from the jam that had formed earlier,” the 58-year-old told The Local. “But I didn’t think it through. If there had been more quick decision-making, we wouldn’t have seen such long lines.”
Up to 1,000 vehicles were stranded along the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad as a blizzard struck, prompting the Armed Forces to assist in evacuating motorists and delivering essentials like food and water to those in need.
Nordström’s truck is equipped only with a day cab, which lacks a sleeping area, forcing him to sleep upright in his seat. However, he felt fortunate compared to those in regular passenger vehicles. Despite being on the way to Lund in Skåne and then returning to Olofström in Blekinge, he had no food or medicines in his truck and had to rely on others for help.
“I met various people during this ordeal, including a couple from Holland who were very kind. I mentioned I was extremely hungry, and they invited me in for coffee and a sandwich,” he recounted.
Throughout the night, Nordström kept checking the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates about when the road would reopen, but the estimated times continued to be pushed back. Initially expected to be cleared by 8 PM, it then shifted to midnight, followed by 2 AM, and then moved to 2 PM the following day.
Eventually, around 10 AM, the Dutch couple received assistance from a local farmer who cleared a three-meter-wide path through the snow. They then drove against traffic down the opposite lane, flashing their warning lights until they reached a passable road. “We took our initiative to escape; otherwise, we would still be trapped,” he said.
Given that Nordström mainly drives in Skåne and Blekinge, he had never faced such extreme snow conditions before. “I’ve never experienced anything like it in my 30 years of driving. Since 1979, there hasn’t been weather this severe in Skåne,” he noted.
