Unfortunately, Friday is a tragic day in Troms. A total of four people died in three different snow avalanche landslides. Moreover, because of avalanche danger several people were evacuated.
The avalanche risk in Troms is at level four, the highest on the scale. At the fourth degree of danger, it will be very easy to trigger large avalanches in fresh snow, even from a great distance. People must avoid landslides. Some natural landslides can loosen if the sun is shining.
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Since Wednesday, the NVE has warned of avalanche danger in northern Norway. According to Emma Julseth Barford, head of the Avalanche Warning Service, conditions in the mountains to the north are very unstable.
– We expected a situation where there would be avalanches. Before the snow fell, we knew it would be unstable. Then came so much snow and strong winds, which caused large patches of snow to form on top. This, in turn, increases the avalanche risk.
A very unstable situation.
The avalanche risk will remain at level four on Saturday. Barflod says the danger will lessen as the weather calms down, but for now conditions will still be very unstable.
– We cannot predict that avalanches will come down naturally. All we can do is warn loudly that everyone must avoid avalanche areas. We are very concerned about the situation. We are now entering Easter with very unstable snow cover. I hope people take the avalanche danger seriously.
Landslides can become very large, people need to be aware that they can move beyond flat areas.
- It's not reassuring. For tourists during the Easter holidays, traveling in the mountains is currently extremely dangerous. Stay away from the mountains.
“My best advice is to stay away. This cannot be emphasized enough. Today we saw how dangerous it is in the mountains - sums up Barflod.
He rejects Saturday
On-duty meteorologist Per Egil Haga of the Meteorological Institute says the weather, which prevailed on Friday in northern Troms and western Finnmark, should change on Saturday.
– The strong low pressure that is currently outside the Finnmark region will weaken and move east. This will cause the wind to weaken and persist. It also looks like precipitation activity will slow down a bit, but the north wind will continue to blow throughout the day tomorrow, Haga says.
