Niclas Nordström, a self-employed truck driver, was stranded by snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for an exhausting 20 hours on Wednesday and Thursday, which he described to The Local as the most challenging weather conditions he has faced in his 30-year career.
Since starting his own road freight business in the 1990s, Nordström expected the traffic would be cleared when he took the E22 on Wednesday. He, along with approximately 1,000 other drivers, quickly realized his mistake when they became stuck around Linderöd around 1:45 PM.
“The cause of the jam occurred quite some time before, so I thought police would have diverted traffic to alternate routes,” the 58-year-old explained. “But I didn’t really think it through. If I had done some quick thinking, this wouldn’t have happened, and the queues wouldn’t have gotten so long.”
Due to a blizzard hitting the region, up to 1,000 vehicles were immobilized on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were called in to assist, helping evacuees get out of their cars and providing food and water to those still trapped.
While Nordström’s truck only has a day cab, meaning it lacks a bed, he had to sleep upright at the wheel, which was still preferable to those in passenger vehicles. However, heading to Lund in Skåne and then home to Olofström, he found himself without food or medicine, relying on the kindness of others.
“There were various people stuck there. I became friends with a couple from Holland who helped me the following day. I mentioned I was really hungry, and they invited me in for coffee and a sandwich,” he shared. He spent the night checking the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on when the road would reopen.
The reopening time kept shifting; first it was set for 8 PM, then midnight, then 2 AM, and finally 2 PM the next day. Ultimately, at around 10 AM, the Dutch couple received assistance from a local farmer who cleared a three-meter-wide path through the snow, enabling both of them to exit the motorway.
“We drove through the opening, heading against traffic, but there was no traffic, so it wasn’t risky. We only managed to escape because of our initiative; otherwise, we might still be there,” Nordström recalled. Having primarily driven in the southern counties of Skåne and Blekinge, he has never faced such dire weather conditions. “I’ve never experienced anything like this in 30 years. Skåne hasn’t seen such severe weather since 1979 when it was completely snowed in.”
