Snow chaos spread across Denmark on Friday, as heavy snowfall and strong winds disrupted transport and forced closures, with the capital deploying snowplows for the first time in 15 years.
Snowplows return to Copenhagen as snow piles up
Copenhagen’s Technical and Environmental Administration (Klima-, Miljø- og Teknikforvaltningen) told TV 2 Kosmopol that the city has been working “at full speed” to keep roads, cycle lanes and pavements passable, dispatching around 160 machines during the storm. The same update said it has, exceptionally, been necessary to use snowplows, which the city had not deployed in roughly 15 years.
Several local updates also reported unusually deep snow for the Danish capital on Friday morning, with DMI measurements indicating around 17 cm in Copenhagen.
Schools close and travel is disrupted beyond the capital
The storm has affected much of the country. Local authorities and operators reported school closures in several areas, while public transport has faced delays and cancellations in multiple regions. In northern Jutland, Aalborg Airport temporarily closed as conditions deteriorated.
On Zealand, the combination of heavy snowfall and wind-driven drifting has been a key driver of disruption. DMI’s warnings highlighted the risk of rapid accumulation, reduced visibility and difficult road conditions—factors that tend to amplify knock-on effects for buses, regional rail and commuter travel.
What DMI’s warning says about the storm’s peak
Denmark’s meteorological service DMI issued a warning for snowstorm and heavy snowfall from Thursday into Friday evening, underlining that impacts can include traffic disruption and broader strain on services.
A Ritzau-distributed update citing DMI also described the criteria used for severe winter weather: heavy snow can be defined as more than 15 cm within six hours, while a snowstorm can involve strong winds combined with significant snowfall over the same time window. The same guidance noted uncertainty about the exact corridor of the heaviest snow, because small shifts in the track can change which areas are hit hardest.
Police and authorities: drive carefully, but no blanket travel ban
Copenhagen Police (Københavns Politi) urged drivers to slow down, keep distance and adapt to conditions, while stating that authorities were not, at that point, discouraging all non-essential travel. The message stressed that advice could change if road conditions worsen.
The city’s approach has focused on keeping key arteries and priority routes functional, while crews work through secondary streets and cycle infrastructure. For Copenhagen—where daily commuting relies heavily on bikes and public transport—snow clearance is not only a matter of road safety but also of maintaining basic urban mobility.
