Thousands in central and western Norway isolated or without power due to storm
A red danger warning for flooding was still in place for western Norway on Thursday after a storm battered parts of Vestland, Møre and Romsdal and Trøndelag.
'The rain has now subsided, but the danger warning is still in effect. We are monitoring the situation continuously and have crews out,' Monica Øksengård at the road traffic control centre for western Norway told Norwegian newswire NTB.
An orange weather warning was issued for wind in Trøndelag on Thursday, and gusts of up to 144 kilometres per hour were expected.
More than 20,000 energy customers in Trøndelag were left without power on Thursday morning.
'It is due to the weather, strong winds that are still ongoing and that are affecting the power supply in large parts of the old Nord-Trøndelag [region],' Ingvild Asp at the energy firm Tensio told the newspaper Adresseavisen.
Asp warned that it could take time to restore power to some of the areas affected by outages.'
Around 50 roads were closed on Thursday morning, and the Norwegian Roads Administration asked motorists to consider whether journeys were necessary.
Road closures and landslides left several thousand people in Ullensvang, Sogndal, Luster and Molde isolated.
Express boats and ferries in Trøndelag have all been docked due to the weather.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Norway
a day ago
- Local Norway
Trollstigen and pre-election buzz: What changes in Norway this summer?
Parliament goes into recess and election campaign enters final spurt The Norwegian parliament closes for the summer on June 20th and will not reopen until the start of October. That doesn't meant that politics closes down, however. This summer will be unusually busy as Norway's parties work up to August, when the campaign for the September 8th general election enters its final stages. The left-wing bloc led by the Labour Party is currently holding the lead it gained in February when former prime minister Jens Stoltenberg made a surprise return to national politics, taking the post of finance minister. In the weeks leading up the closure, the parliament has been rushing through the last bills on the agenda . READ ALSO: Six new laws that need to be passed in Norway before the summer Summer holidays The school term in Norway ends on Friday, June 20th, and then kids won't return until a new school year begins on Monday, August 18th. Employees in Norway have the right to three consecutive weeks of holiday during the period from June 1st to September 30th, with most choosing the last three weeks of July, which is known as the fellesferie , or "collective holiday". Most will use this period to disappear to cabins outside the big cities, meaning you might find the big cities like Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger strangely quiet. During the fellesferie, smaller shops and restaurants often close down in major cities and towns, although the big chains normally stay open. Summer music festivals Norway goes all out on its summer festivals. The summer kicks off with OverOslo and Tons of Rock , both held in Oslo in June. Then in July, the festival season reaches its busiest period, with the Stavernfestivalen , Palmesus , Slottsfjell , Molde International Jazz Festival , and Buktafestivalen . It all then gets rounded off with Øyafestivalen , the biggest festival of them all, held from August 6th to August 9th. READ ALSO: Eight music festivals you shouldn't miss in Norway this summer Advertisement Pride events Oslo Pride will occur between June 20th and June 28th, and the main parade will occur on June 28th. Oslo Pride is the country's largest LGBTQIA+ celebration. The parade will begin in Grønland. Bergen Pride will take place between June 13th and June 21st, with a parade and closing concert taking place on the 21st. Roadworks and rail replacement buses Both Norway's rail track operator and the country's roads agency take advantage of relatively empty cities and low levels of commuting over the summer to carry out maintenance and renovation projects. There will be rail replacement buses on several rail lines out of Oslo through much of the summer, and traffic diversions in several places. Read our breakdown here . Trollstigen reopens The Trollstigen road (meaning "path of the trolls", or "magic path") has been closed since 2024 due to the risk of falling rocks. The road, famed for the eleven hairpin bends that take you up from Åndalsnes to the Trollstigen plateau, is scheduled to reopen again on July 14th. Advertisement Summer solstice Saturday, June 21st 2025, will mark the summer solstice in Norway. In most parts of Norway, you can expect it to remain light hours past midnight. From that day forward, the days in Norway will gradually get shorter until the winter solstice in December. In Bodø, the midnight sun is visible between June 4th and July 8th. NEW LAWS Abortion threshold extended to 18 weeks On June 1st, Norway extended the threshold at which women can decide to have an abortion from the 12 week of pregnancy to the 18th week. Abortions after this week require the approval of the country's abortion board. Separate collection of glass and metal waste mandatory From July 1st, municipalities across Norway will have to collect glass and metal waste separately, as Norway implements the last parts of the EU's Waste Framework Directive. For those living in major towns and cities, this should not make much difference, as most already collect glass and metal waste separately, but it may mean changes for those living in less densely populated areas Tax cut should lower power bills From July 1st, the government is cutting the "electricity fee" or elavgiften by 4.4 øre per kWh, a change that it expects will reduce the average households annual spending on power networks by 825 kroner per year. Together with the so-called Norway Price, the measure is intended to reduce the burden on households from high power prices. Advertisement Stricter rules for estate agents New rules come into force on July 1st which will tighten the rules for estate agents, among other things prohibiting the practice of secret bids, where estate agents can take bids and keep them secret from other bidders. The new rules bring in other stricter requirements for brokers, and give the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet) greater powers to monitor and enforce compliance with the regulations. Norway's security police wins power to process public data Norway's PST security police will from July 1st gain new powers to store, systematise, and analyse publicly available information which it can use to prepare analyses and intelligence assessments on potential national security threats. The new rules bring in new rules on how such public information should be stored and processed.
Local Norway
28-05-2025
- Local Norway
Are you interested in writing for The Local Norway?
Our job at The Local is to explain Norwegian news and the complexities of life in Norway to readers. Our readers are mostly foreign nationals living in the country or people living all around the world who happen to have a particular interest in Norway. They may be regular visitors or just simply dream of moving to the country one day. Our overall goal is to be a kind of one-stop shop for our readers so they can get all the relevant news and analysis, essential practical information and cultural context they need about Norway in one place. And we need journalists and writers to help us do it. Advertisement So if you'd like to help explain Norway to a foreign audience and have the relevant journalistic and writing experience then feel free to get in touch. We are looking for versatile writers based in Norway who understand the country, read The Local and hopefully have plenty of ideas for articles that will be valuable to our readers. Please send a CV and covering email to
Local Norway
28-05-2025
- Local Norway
Why Ascension Day is a public holiday in Norway
Ascension day, or Kristi himmelfartsdag in Norwegian, is the day that Christians believe marks the day that Jesus ascended to heaven. It's always 40 days after Easter Sunday and 10 days before Pentecost, which means that its exact date varies from year to year. However, it always falls on a Thursday, offering the opportunity of an inneklemt dag , meaning it is squeezed between a public holiday and a weekend. This means many who have planned ahead will have also booked the Friday off to enjoy four days off. But why does Norway give people a day off work on this day? Ascension is actually one of the oldest religious holidays and, in some ways, one of the most important days in the Christian calendar as it symbolizes Jesus' return to God. The tradition of observing Ascension Day dates back centuries and was widely celebrated by the fourth century. Norway isn't alone in designating the day as a public holiday, as Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Denmark all get a day off. The day is a public holiday in Norway due to the historical connection between church and state. The Lutheran Church was the state church until 2012 with the church and state being formally separated in 2017. Advertisement Therefore, many Christian feast days like Ascension Day are enshrined in law as public holidays. Norway has a law on public holidays, Lov om helligdager og helligdagsfred , that ensures businesses close on certain days of the year. In addition, the Working Environment Act restricts employees from working on public holidays, except in essential sectors like healthcare or transport. Those who do work on these days are entitled to extra pay, as outlined in collective agreements or employment contracts. Unlike other public holidays like Easter or Christmas, Ascension Day isn't associated with any particular meal, cake or custom. However, some religious Norwegians will attend special church services - typically held outside if the weather permits it. When it comes to most people, they'll use the long weekend to travel or visit family, catch up on some rest, or try and spend some time outdoors in some pleasant spring weather.
