Schools closed and bus thrown off road in most powerful storm for decades, while snow ends dry spell in Himalayas

This week brought the strongest storm so far of the 2023-24 European season, as Storm Ingunn slammed into Norway on Wednesday with hurricane-force winds. A deep, multi-centred area of low pressure intensified as it moved eastwards towards Scandinavia, displaying signs of possible sting jet activity as it approached the Norwegian coast. A sting jet is a narrow channel of very strong winds – often more than 100mph (160km/h) – that can form when low pressure systems strengthen rapidly, with these winds descending from upper levels towards the surface.

The storm deepened to a lowest central pressure of 940hPa on Wednesday evening, approaching Norway’s official low pressure record of 938.5hPa, set in 1907. The storm is the most powerful Norway has seen in decades, with sustained winds equivalent to those from a Category 1 hurricane. Gusts of 80-100mph were widespread along the west coast during Wednesday afternoon and overnight, with the Norwegian Meteorological Society announcing on Thursday a strongest confirmed gust of 115mph at Sklinna Lighthouse on the island of Heimøya, north of Trondheim. Some reports from the Faroe Islands suggest that gusts there could have reached up to 155mph, but these numbers were unconfirmed at the time of writing.