More warnings posted for heavy rain
State meteorologists sent out yet another warning for extremely heavy rain for many areas along Norway's southern coast over the next few days, and then they upgraded it.
As much as 85 millimeters of rain may pour down on parts of Buskerud, Vestfold and Telemark counties as two back-to-back low pressure systems move in from the North Sea and the Skagerrak. It was already raining in the Agder counties on Monday, with around 70 millimeters of rain expected between noon Monday and noon Tuesday.
More heavy rain was expected later in the week, with the heaviest periods coming in the 24-hour period from midnight Thursday through Friday night. When the meteorologists upgrade their warning, they included the Oslo metropolitan area, Akershus County and Østfold, south of Oslo.
Rain was forecast for most of southeastern Norway, also in the mountains where reservoirs are already full to the brim. That means low electricity prices throughout the winter, with power companies saying they've never had so much water in the reservoirs at the end of the summer, well beforethe autumn storms that often roll in during October and November.
"We've already had lots of rain in Agder and Telemark," meteorologist Aurora Stenmark told state broadcaster NRK. "A warm front has produced the first shower, with a cold front coming in soon over Vest-Agder."
Heavy rain set off flooding earlier this month, and the meteorologists noted that the ground is still saturated in many areas where more rain is expected. Stenmark said the rain coming in Thursday, however, won't last as long and will move on relatively quickly.