Two people died on Saturday in Sweden, authorities said, as a storm battered Norway, Sweden and Finland, leaving thousands without power.

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.

One fatality, a man in his 50s, was reported near the Kungsberget ski resort in central Sweden.

The man was hit by a falling tree, said Mats Lann of Gavleborg police.

He was taken to hospital where he died from his injuries.

Further north, regional utility Hemab said that one of its employees had died in an accident "in the field."

Broadcaster SVT reported that the worker had also been caught under a falling tree.

Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported that over 120,000 homes in Finland were without power, with the western part of the country being hit the worst.

Swedish news agency TT reported that over 40,000 Swedish homes were left without electricity.

Traffic at the Kittila airport in northern Finland was 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. (AFP)