The self-employed truck driver, Niclas Nordström, found himself stranded by snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for a grueling 20 hours on Wednesday and Thursday. He described this ordeal as the worst weather experience of his 30-year driving career to The Local.
Nordström, who has been operating his own freight business since the 1990s, regretted assuming the traffic would be cleared when he entered the E22 on Wednesday. He, along with approximately 1,000 other drivers, got stuck near Linderöd around 1:45 PM.
“The cause of the traffic jam occurred long before, so I thought the police would have diverted vehicles,” the 58-year-old shared with The Local. “I didn’t analyze the situation properly. If there had been more quick decisions made, we wouldn’t have seen such extensive delays.”
Up to 1,000 vehicles were immobilized on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad due to a severe blizzard, prompting the Armed Forces to provide assistance with evacuations and supply food and water to those trapped.
Nordström’s truck, equipped only with a day cab, lacked a sleeping area, forcing him to sleep upright in the driver’s seat. Nonetheless, he regarded his situation as more fortunate than many passenger vehicle occupants.
However, on his way to Lund in Skåne, then heading home to Olofström in Blekinge, he carried no food or medicine in the truck and had to depend on others for assistance. “I met a lovely couple from Holland who helped me the next day. I mentioned my hunger, and they kindly invited me in for coffee and a sandwich,” he recounted.
Throughout the night, Nordström monitored the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on when the road might reopen, only to see the estimated time pushed back repeatedly—from 8 PM to midnight, then 2 AM, and finally to 2 PM the next day.
Ultimately, around 10 AM, help came from a local farmer who created a three-meter-wide path through the snow. Together, Nordström and the Dutchman drove against traffic, with warning lights flashing, until they found a passable road. “We both drove out through the opening, against the flow of traffic, but it wasn’t dangerous as there was no other traffic. We wouldn’t have escaped without our initiative; we’d still be stuck otherwise,” he explained.
Having primarily driven in Skåne and Blekinge, Nordström said he had never experienced snow conditions like those on Wednesday, recalling, “I’ve never been in anything like this in my 30 years of driving. This weather is the worst Skåne has seen since the snowstorm of 1979.”
