The self-employed truck driver Niclas Nordström found himself stranded by 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.
Operating his own road freight business since the 1990s, Nordström realized he had made a mistake by expecting traffic to be cleared when he took the E22. He, along with about 1,000 other drivers, became stuck near Linderöd around 1:45 PM.
“I thought the police would have diverted traffic well before this happened,” the 58-year-old shared with The Local. “But I didn’t think it through. If there had been quicker decisions made, this wouldn’t have occurred, and the queues would’ve been shorter.”
As a blizzard hit, approximately 1,000 vehicles were left immobilized on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad. The Armed Forces were called in to assist with evacuating vehicles and providing food and water to those trapped.
Nordström’s truck has a day cab with no bed, forcing him to sleep upright at the wheel. Despite this discomfort, he felt better off than those in smaller cars. However, he lacked food and medicine during his ordeal, relying on the kindness of others for help.
“I met a couple from Holland who were very kind. When I mentioned I was hungry, they invited me in for coffee and a sandwich,” he recounted. Throughout the night, he kept checking the Swedish Transport Administration’s website for updates on when the road would reopen.
Unfortunately, the reopening time kept getting pushed further back—first 8 PM, then midnight, and later 2 AM and 2 PM the following day.
Eventually, thanks to a local farmer who cleared a three-meter path through the snow, Nordström and the Dutchman managed to exit the motorway. They drove the wrong way down an empty lane, using their warning lights, until they reached a drivable road.
Having predominantly driven in Skåne and Blekinge, Nordström had never faced such severe snow conditions. “I’ve never encountered anything like this in my 30 years. It hasn’t been this bad in Skåne since 1979, when the entire region was buried in snow,” he remarked.
