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 the weather conditions during this incident as the worst of his 30-year career, according to The Local.
Having operated his own road freight business since the 1990s, Nordström initially believed that the traffic congestion would be cleared before he entered the E22 on Wednesday. This assumption turned out to be incorrect as he, along with around 1,000 other drivers, halted near Linderöd at approximately 1:45 PM.
“The traffic jam was caused by an earlier incident, and I just assumed that authorities had already stopped traffic and redirected it,” the 58-year-old shared with The Local. “I didn’t think critically at the time. With a bit more quick thinking, we could have avoided such extensive queues.”
As severe blizzard conditions continued to hit the area, approximately 1,000 vehicles were stranded on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were called in to facilitate evacuations and provide food and water to those still in their vehicles.
While Nordström’s truck is equipped with a day cab, which lacks a bed, he still had a somewhat better situation than those in passenger cars. Stuck while traveling to Lund in Skåne and then heading home to Olofström in Blekinge, he found himself without food or medicine and relied on assistance from strangers.
“People from various backgrounds were around. I connected with a couple from Holland who offered me coffee and a sandwich when I mentioned I was really hungry,” he recounted, noting how he spent the night monitoring the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on the road’s status.
“The timeline kept changing. It went from an opening at 8 PM to midnight, then 2 AM, and eventually 2 PM the following day,” he recalled. Ultimately, by around 10 AM, the Dutch couple received help from a local farmer, who cleared a three-meter-wide pathway through the snow, allowing them to exit the motorway. They then drove against traffic in the opposite lane, activating their warning lights, until they found a passable road.
Nordström, who primarily operates in southern Skåne and Blekinge, stated he had never experienced such severe snow conditions in his three decades of driving. “I’ve never encountered anything like this before. The last major snow event in Skåne was back in 1979,” he said.
