Rare May snow in Oslo beats record for 1st time in 50 years

A rare May snowfall hit Norway's capital city overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, and, in some parts of the city, it was the first time in 50 years that there was that much snowfall.

In the Tryvann area north of Oslo, 40 cm of snow was registered, according to newspaper Aftenposten.

Snow also fell in Oslo's Blindern area, where the main campus of the University of Oslo is located.

"Snow was registered at Blindern in May only once before. It happened in 1967," meteorologist Terje Alsvik Walloe told Aftenposten.

On Wednesday, the thermometer did not go above 3.1 degrees in Blindern, marking the lowest temperature ever measured on the same date in Oslo.

"It is exceptional that it is so cold and there is so much snow now in May. This is the combination of cold air and precipitation all the time, which has kept the temperature down," explained Alsvik Walloe.

He said that it had been cool throughout Scandinavia in recent days. In a short time, people in eastern Norway had experienced all kinds of extreme weather. Last weekend, it was over 20 degrees Celsius in Oslo.

The temperature fluctuations were unusual, he said.

Thursday's temperature slowly crept towards the 5-degree mark, which was still cool for the season, but, the temperature is expected to rise to 15 degrees on the week-end, Alsvik Walloe said.

The Norwegian Association for the Promotion of Skiing had retired its snow machines for the season, but when winter made a comeback, they came out again, Aftenposten wrote.

"This is a little special, but also very funny. There has been a lot of snow, especially in the west," said the association's trail manager Hege Blichfeldt Sheriff. Endit