At Least 3 Dead amid Powerful Winter Storm, Including Man Fatally Hit by Tree at Ski Resort

At least three people have died after a powerful winter storm hit Sweden over the weekend.

The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) issued an orange weather warning in Sweden on Saturday, Dec. 27, as hurricane force winds swept the northern half of the country over the weekend, the Swedish outlets Dagens Nyheter and TT reported.

Three people were killed amid Storm Johannes on Saturday, according to BBC News. A man in his 50s was struck and killed by a tree at the Kungsberget ski resort, per the outlet, citing local media and the police. Two other men died while clearing trees in Härnösand and Hofors, according to Dagens Nyheter and TT. The victims’ identities have not been disclosed at this time.

Thousands of trees fell across the region, causing widespread power outages amid the storm. The Swedish Transport Administration (STA) said they have 100 crews working to clear the roads, per TT.

“As I understand it, it should be passable in most places within the day. But it may take time to repair game fences and other parts that have been damaged,” Eva Jonsson, STA press communicator, told the agency. The roads are expected to take two weeks to be fully restored, added Jonsson.  

More than 40,000 homes were left without power in the northern and central parts of the country. Severe traffic disruption occurred across the region as fallen trees blocked roads and many train services were cancelled, per Dagens Nyheter.

The storm subsided by early morning on Sunday, Dec. 28. Some of the roads were reopened by Sunday evening, per the Sweden Herald.

“This is the worst storm we have been hit by, at Ellevio at least, since Gudrun in 2005 and Per in 2007,” Jonatan Björck, press communicator at Swedish electric power distributor Ellevio, told TT.

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Ellevio wrote in an update on Facebook on Monday, Dec. 29, “Work to restore power after Storm Johannes is once again underway with full force in Gävleborg since early this morning. During the night, we have gone through all the errors and made a priority and transported up more material to the area.”

“The situation is still very challenging because so many trees have fallen. It hinders both accessibility and work along the power lines, which causes in some places it to take longer than normal to get power back.”

Ellevio added that the number of homes without power had decreased to more than 8,000.

PEOPLE has reached out to SMHI and Swedish Police for comment.