Self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström was stranded by heavy snow on Sweden’s E22 motorway for 20 hours on Wednesday and Thursday, describing the conditions as the worst he has faced in his 30-year career.
Nordström, who has operated his road freight business since the 1990s, believed that any traffic block would have been cleared by the time he took the E22 on Wednesday. He quickly realized he was wrong when he, along with about 1,000 other drivers, came to a standstill around Linderöd around 1:45 PM.
“The cause of the traffic jam occurred earlier, so I assumed the police would have redirected vehicles onto alternate routes,” the 58-year-old recounted. “But I really didn’t think it through. If there had been quicker thinking involved, we wouldn’t have faced such lengthy delays.”
As a blizzard struck the region, around 1,000 vehicles were left immobilized on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were called in to assist with evacuations and to provide food and water to those stuck.
Nordström’s truck features only a day cab, which lacks a bed, forcing him to sleep upright in the driver’s seat. Nevertheless, he was in a more fortunate position compared to passengers in cars. On his way to Lund and then home to Olofström, he found himself without food or medicine and had to depend on the kindness of others.
“There were many people around. I befriended a couple from Holland who helped me the following day. When I mentioned I was starving, they invited me for coffee and a sandwich,” he shared.
During the night, he frequently checked the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on when the road would reopen. “The reopening time kept getting pushed back—from 8 PM to midnight, then 2 AM, and finally to 2 PM the next day,” he said.
Eventually, around 10 AM, a local farmer assisted the Dutch couple and Nordström in creating a three-meter-wide path through the snow. They then drove against the flow of traffic with lights flashing until they reached a clear road. “We both navigated through the opening. It wasn’t dangerous since there was no traffic; our initiative was what got us out. Otherwise, we would still be there,” he explained. Nordström noted he had never encountered such severe weather during his years of driving in southern Skåne and Blekinge. “I’ve never seen conditions like this in 30 years. It hasn’t snowed this badly in Skåne since 1979.”
