Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Et plutselig vindkast sender flere snøballer over sykkelstien. - A sudden gust of wind sends several snowballs across the bike path.

Because vindkast is a neuter-gender noun in Norwegian. Neuter nouns take et as the indefinite article (e.g. et hus, et eple), while common-gender nouns take en (e.g. en bil, en katt).

Why doesn't plutselig change form with a -t ending as some adjectives do in the neuter?

Adjectives ending in -ig (like plutselig, rolig) are invariable for gender in Norwegian; they keep the same form in both common and neuter. Only certain adjectives (e.g. stor → stort, snill → snilt) add -t in the neuter.

Why is the verb sender in the present tense rather than the past?

Norwegian often uses the narrative present to describe events vividly, even if they’ve just happened. In English you might similarly say “A sudden gust of wind sends several snowballs…”. Of course you could also use the past tense (sendte) for a straightforward report.

What does flere mean, and why not use mer or mange?

flere = “more” or “several” for countable items.
mer = “more” for uncountable substances (e.g. mer vann).
mange = “many”, emphasizing a large quantity rather than an increase.
Here, flere snøballer highlights additional, countable snowballs being sent across the path.

Why is there no article before snøballer, and how is plurality shown?

Norwegian drops the article for indefinite plural nouns. Plural is marked by adding -er (or another plural ending) to the noun stem:
• Singular indefinite: en snøball
• Plural indefinite: snøballer

Why is sykkelstien in the definite form instead of indefinite (a bicycle path)?

Because the speaker refers to a specific, context-known path. Norwegian marks “the” with a definite suffix (-en for common gender):
• Indefinite: en sykkelsti (“a bicycle path”)
• Definite: sykkelstien (“the bicycle path”)

Why is over used with sykkelstien instead of på or til?

over indicates motion across or above something (“over the path”).
på means “on” (e.g. snøballene landet på veien = “the snowballs landed on the road”).
til means “to” (e.g. kastet snøballer til sykkelstien = “threw snowballs to the path”).

Why are vindkast and sykkelsti written as single words rather than two separate words?

Norwegian forms compounds by concatenating stems into one word:

Take two stems (e.g. vind + kast, sykkel + sti).
Glue them together, sometimes adding a linking -s (though not in vindkast or sykkelsti).
Result: vindkast, sykkelsti.

What is the typical word order for adjectives and nouns in Norwegian?

Adjectives precede the noun, just like in English. The pattern is:
[article] + [adjective] + [noun]
Example in your sentence: et (article) + plutselig (adjective) + vindkast (noun).
If you have multiple adjectives, they all come before the noun, and each must agree in gender and number if it’s one that inflects.