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. He described the experience to The Local as the most severe weather he has faced in his 30-year career.
Since the 1990s, Nordström has operated his own road freight business. He had mistakenly assumed the traffic jam he encountered on Wednesday, which began in Linderöd around 1:45 PM, would be resolved by the time he arrived. Along with approximately 1,000 other motorists, he faced the reality of being stuck.
“The reason for the jam was established well before I got there, so I just assumed the police would have already rerouted traffic onto alternate roads,” the 58-year-old shared with The Local. “I didn’t really think it through. With a bit more quick thinking, this situation could have been avoided, and the long queues wouldn’t have happened.”
Rough weather left nearly 1,000 vehicles abandoned on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were called in to assist with evacuating people from their cars and delivering essential supplies like food and water.
Nordström’s truck features a day cab, which means there is no sleeping compartment; he had to sleep upright at the wheel. However, he felt better off compared to those in standard passenger vehicles. On his way to Lund in Skåne and then heading home to Olofström in Blekinge, he unfortunately had no food or medicine and relied on the kindness of others.
“There were many different individuals trapped there. I befriended a couple from Holland who helped me the next day. Feeling extremely hungry, they graciously invited me in for coffee and a sandwich,” he recounted.
Throughout the night, he monitored the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on the road’s status. “The opening time kept getting pushed back. It started as 8 PM, then shifted to midnight, then 2 AM, and eventually 2 PM the next day,” he said.
Ultimately, around 10 AM, the Dutch couple received assistance from a local farmer who cleared a three-meter-wide path in the snow, allowing them to exit the motorway. They then drove against traffic, with flashing warning lights, until reaching a suitable road.
Having primarily driven in the southern regions of Skåne and Blekinge, Nordström remarked, “I’ve never been in anything like this in my entire driving career. The weather has not been as bad in Skåne since 1979 when the whole region was deeply blanketed in snow.”
