The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute issued alerts for strong winds for large parts of the northern half of the country as Storm Johannes hit the country.

The one fatality was reported near the Kungsberget ski resort in central Sweden.

"Due to the storm, a tree had been blown over a man," Mats Lann of Gavleborg police told AFP, adding that the man had been taken to hospital but had died from his injuries.

Over 40,000 homes in Sweden were left without electricity, Swedish news agency TT reported. Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported that 33,000 homes in Finland were without power.

Traffic at the Kittila airport in northern Finland had to be halted after heavy winds pushed a passenger plane and a smaller plane off the runway and into a bank of snow, Finnish media reported. There were no injuries.