On Friday morning there were widespread reports of traffic problems, both in air and on land, and power outages left large areas in the Agder counties and the Tromsø area without electricity.
NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) reported Friday that the power grid in Nordland County had failed and there was a danger of this spreading to all of Finnmark County. The cities of Tromsø and Kirkenes were blacked out, but electricity was restored in Tromsø later Friday morning.
"6,000 households in the Agder counties have no power," said Agder Energi information chief Realf Ottesen. "The large amounts of snow that have fallen in the region in the past few days are seen, statistically, only once every ten years in these parts," Ottesen said.
By 6:30 a.m. 30 flights had already been canceled around the country, with most problems affecting Widerøe airline in northern Norway. Three hour delays were experienced for some air travelers waiting at Oslo's Gardermoen International Airport, and blizzard-like conditions in eastern Norway continued.
Major highways like the E6 and E12 reported closures in mountainous areas and highways 7 (over Hardangervidda) and 13 (Gaularfjell and Vikafjell mountains) were also closed on Friday morning.
Trondheim Energiverk had about 1,300 customers blacked out after trees were blown down over power lines early on Friday, NRK reports.
