The bad weather in the north has led to several fishing vessels, including Russian ones, receiving permission from the Norwegian Armed Forces’ operational headquarters (FOH) to seek shelter in the fjords in Troms.
On Tuesday morning it was, according to the Coastal Agency’s online service NAISeleven Russian fishing boats in the area near and north-east of Tromsø – including the 57 meter long “Kapitan Gerashchenko”.
IN LE: On Tuesday morning, eleven Russian fishing boats were located in the area near and northeast of Tromsø. Photo: Screenshot NAIS / Coastal Administration
Back and forth
The digital track of the Russian fishing vessel shows how the boat has been going back and forth in the Lyngenfjord in the last 24 hours, to get shelter from the storm.
Permits to shelter in the fjords are granted upon application, and according to spokesperson Jonny Karlsen in FOH, is a normal procedure when there are demanding conditions along the coast.
It was NRK who first mentioned the matter.
GOOD MOORING: The 15 meter long fishing boat “Sandviknes” is moored at Sommarøy. Photo: Markus Furnes
RURAL: The harbor at Sommarøy on the outskirts of Tromsø is full of fishing boats seeking shelter from the storm. Photo: Markus Furnes
HIGH SEAS: There was also a lot of sea in the harbor on Sommarøy outside Tromsø on Tuesday. Photo: Markus Furnes
“Ploughing” the country
On-duty meteorologist Iselin Skjervagen at Værvarslinga in northern Norway tells TV 2 that the status for northern Norway on Tuesday afternoon is that a so-called “cold front” is about to “plough” its way through the entire country.
A cold front is defined as a boundary between two air masses of different temperatures. When these air masses meet, this results in unstable weather conditions with lots of wind, precipitation, and also thunderstorms.
The cold front is transported by the low pressures in the sea around us.
– At the moment, this cold front is over Troms and Finnmark. It brings with it a lot of wind and a lot of precipitation in the form of rain, sleet and hailstorms, says Skjervagen.
Stiff gale and thunder
She adds that it is a little calmer in Nordland on Tuesday afternoon, despite the fact that there is still a stiff to strong gale in exposed places along the coast.
In Troms, there is a strong gale from the south-west in exposed places with occasional small storms on the coast. Here, the wind will decrease to a slight gale late on Tuesday evening.
Finnmark has the same south-west, with stiff to strong gales in exposed places and periodic small storms along the coast of Western Finnmark.
There may be some thunderstorms along the coast in Troms and Finnmark this afternoon and evening, according to the meteorologist.
From bad to worse
– What about Wednesday, then I guess it’ll go to?
– That is right. The wind in Nordland and Troms will increase to a south-westerly full gale, and perhaps a strong storm around the Vestfjorden, says Skjervagen.
Locally strong gusts of 27-33 meters per second are expected, and the Meteorological Institute (MET) and the Norwegian Directorate of Water Resources and Energy (NVE) are warning danger level orange for the coastal areas, and yellow for wind and flood danger for other parts of the country.
Orange warning: very strong gusts of wind are also expected in Lofoten, Vesterålen and parts of Troms on Wednesday ?
Wind gusts of 33-38 m/s are expected from the south and southwest, and storms in medium winds.
Otherwise, yellow danger warnings for wind gusts (27-33 m/s) apply for large parts of northern Norway ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/7akTzcAUIJ
— The Meteorologists (@TheMeteorologen) February 7, 2023
Take precautions
There is likely to be a lot of rain in northern Norway. “Downpour”, according to Skjervagen – and with downpour comes the risk of stormwater in densely built-up areas.
There may also be demanding driving conditions, due to flooding and the risk of aquaplaning.
– Adapt your speed and drive according to the conditions, is the meteorologist’s call.
In relation to the wind, the recommendations are to secure loose objects, and to avoid unnecessary traffic in exposed places, on the sea and in the beach zone.
– Here, departures for planes, ferries or other transport may be cancelled, and bridges may be closed, says the meteorologist.
