Self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström found himself stranded by snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for a harrowing 20 hours on Wednesday and Thursday. He described the weather conditions as the worst he has ever experienced in his 30-year career, according to an interview with The Local.
Nordström, who has been operating his own road freight business since the 1990s, mistakenly assumed that the blocked traffic would have cleared up when he took the E22 on Wednesday. He realized his error around 1:45 PM near Linderöd, along with approximately 1,000 other drivers who also came to a halt.
“The cause of the jam had occurred much earlier, so I figured the police would have already redirected traffic to other routes,” the 58-year-old shared with The Local. “However, I didn’t think things through properly. A bit more quick-thinking could have prevented such long queues.”
As a blizzard ravaged the region, up to 1,000 vehicles were left caught on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were called in to assist, evacuating individuals from their cars and providing essential food and water to those who remained stranded.
Nordström had a truck equipped only with a day cab, lacking a sleeping area, forcing him to sleep upright at the steering wheel. Thankfully, he found himself in a better predicament than those in passenger vehicles. Unfortunately, while en route to Lund in Skåne and then home to Olofström in Blekinge County, he was without food or medication and had to depend on the kindness of others.
“I met various people, including a couple from Holland who were very helpful the next day. I mentioned I was extremely hungry, and they graciously invited me in for coffee and a sandwich,” he recounted.
During the night, he constantly checked the Swedish Transport Administration’s website, hoping for updates on when the road would reopen. “The time kept getting pushed back—first it was 8 PM, then midnight, then 2 AM, and later 2 PM the following day,” he said.
Ultimately, around 10 AM, the Dutch couple received assistance from a local farmer, who managed to clear a three-meter-wide path through the snow. They both took this exit and drove against oncoming traffic, activating their hazard lights, until they reached a passable road.
Reflecting on his experience, Nordström, who primarily drives in the southern regions of Skåne and Blekinge, noted, “I’ve never encountered anything like this in my 30 years of driving. The snow conditions we faced on Wednesday were unprecedented, akin to the severe winter of 1979 when Skåne was completely buried in snow.”
