The self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström found himself snowbound on Sweden’s E22 motorway for 20 hours on Wednesday and Thursday, describing it as the most severe weather he has faced in his three-decade career.
Nordström, who has operated his own freight business since the 1990s, said he mistakenly thought the traffic would have cleared when he entered the E22 on Wednesday. His error, shared by about 1,000 other drivers, became apparent when he got stuck near Linderöd around 1:45 PM.
“I assumed the police would have redirected the traffic since the cause of the congestion had happened earlier, but I didn’t fully consider the situation. With a bit more quick thinking, this could have been avoided, and the queues wouldn’t have been as long,” the 58-year-old shared with The Local.
Up to 1,000 vehicles were stranded on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad as a blizzard hit the region, prompting the Armed Forces to assist in evacuating stranded motorists and providing food and water to those still trapped.
Although Nordström’s truck is equipped with only a day cab (lacking a bed), allowing him to sleep upright at the wheel, he managed to fare better than many in passenger cars. However, he lacked food and medicine during his ordeal and relied on help from others.
“I met a couple from Holland who assisted me the next day. I mentioned I was really hungry, and they kindly invited me in for coffee and a sandwich,” he recounted, mentioning how he spent the night checking the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on the road reopening.
“The timeline kept being pushed back. First, it was set for 8 PM, then midnight, then 2 AM, and finally 2 PM the next day,” he explained.
Eventually, 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 the flow of traffic but encountered no danger in doing so.
“We both managed to drive out through the opening, navigating against the traffic. Thanks to our initiative, we escaped; otherwise, we’d still be stuck there,” he noted. Having primarily driven in southern counties like Skåne and Blekinge, he remarked, “I have never encountered snow conditions like this in my 30 years of driving. It hasn’t been this bad in Skåne since the major snowstorm of 1979.”
