Stormy start to winter holiday week

Another winter storm set in just as thousands of Norwegians were heading for the mountains and other destinations over the weekend. Schools in many areas are closed for a week starting Monday, for Norway’s annual vinterferie (winter vacation), meaning many families started hitting the road from Friday afternoon. Highway officials urged motorists to delay departures until Sunday because of hazardous driving conditions all over southern Norway. Strong winds set in and temperatures fell back down to around minus-10 in Oslo and minus-20 at higher elevations, where avalanche warnings were posted in several locations. Numerous accidents were reported in the Oslo area on Saturday and tow trucks responded to more than 3,000 calls by Saturday night. The snow and sub-freezing temperatures also caused more problems for public transit in the Oslo area.