The self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström found himself stranded by snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for 20 hours, describing the conditions as the worst he’s faced in his 30-year career.
Nordström has operated his own road freight business since the 1990s. He mistakenly believed that the blocked traffic would have been cleared when he took the E22 on Wednesday, only to encounter a standstill around Linderöd at approximately 1:45 PM, along with around 1,000 other drivers.
“I thought the police would have stopped the traffic and diverted it onto other routes because the cause of the jam occurred much earlier,” the 58-year-old explained. “I didn’t think it through properly. If I had been more alert, this situation could have been avoided, and the queues wouldn’t have been so long.”
As a blizzard swept through the area, up to 1,000 vehicles became immobilized on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were sent in to assist with evacuations and to distribute food and water to those trapped.
Unlike others stuck in passenger cars, Nordström’s truck features only a day cab, forcing him to sleep upright at the wheel. However, he had no food or medicine onboard as he was en route to Lund in Skåne and then home to Olofström in Blekinge county. He relied on the generosity of fellow stranded individuals.
“I made friends with a couple from Holland who were extremely helpful. I mentioned to them how hungry I was, and they kindly invited me in for coffee and a sandwich,” he said. Throughout the night, he monitored the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on when the road would reopen.
Each time he checked, the reopening time kept getting postponed—from 8 PM, to midnight, then 2 AM, and finally to 2 PM the following day.
Ultimately, around 10 AM, the Dutch couple received assistance from a local farmer, who cleared a three-meter-wide path in the snow. Together, they drove against the flow of traffic along the opposite lane, using hazard lights until they reached a usable road.
Nordström noted that he has rarely encountered such severe weather conditions in southern counties Skåne and Blekinge during his extensive driving career. “I’ve never experienced anything like this in 30 years. Conditions haven’t been this poor in Skåne since the major snowfall of 1979,” he reflected.
