The self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström found himself stranded by snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for an exhausting 20 hours on Wednesday and Thursday, describing the experience as the worst weather he has faced in his 30-year career.
Having operated his own road freight business since the 1990s, Nordström mistakenly thought that the traffic congestion would have been resolved when he set out on the E22. Along with approximately 1,000 other drivers, he realized his error around 1:45 PM near Linderöd when he was brought to a halt.
“I assumed the police had already managed the situation, diverting traffic onto alternative routes since the jam started much earlier,” the 58-year-old recounted. “In hindsight, I should have thought things through better; a bit more quick thinking would have prevented such extensive delays.”
As a blizzard hit the region, nearly 1,000 vehicles became trapped on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were deployed to assist with evacuations and to distribute food and water to those still stranded.
Nordström’s truck is fitted with a day cab, so he had to sleep upright at the wheel. Fortunately, his situation was somewhat better than that of passengers in cars; however, he lacked food and medicine, relying on the kindness of others for assistance.
“I met a couple from Holland who helped me the next day after I shared how hungry I was. They invited me in for coffee and a sandwich,” he shared. During the long night, he continually checked the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on when the road would reopen.
“Each update kept postponing; it went from 8 PM to midnight, then to 2 AM, and finally to 2 PM the next day,” he said. Ultimately, around 10 AM, a local farmer assisted the Dutchman in clearing a three-meter-wide path through the snow, allowing both of them to exit the motorway. They drove against traffic for safety since there were no other vehicles around.
Nordström noted that he had never experienced such severe snow conditions in his years of driving in southern Skåne and Blekinge. “In my 30 years on the road, I’ve never faced anything like this. The region hasn’t seen weather this harsh since 1979, when everything was buried in snow,” he remarked.
