Road Weather Forecast Service
Services

Highly Accurate Road Weather Forecast Information to Support Countermeasures Against Traffic Disruption Caused by Severe Weather

Roads are managed by the national government, private companies, local governments, and government-backed corporations. Road administrators pay close attention to the ever-changing weather conditions and implement road maintenance and secure operations, including disaster prevention and snow and ice countermeasures, to ensure safe and smooth transportation.

In particular, heavy rainfall, heavy snowfall, and blizzards can hinder safe driving, causing accidents and traffic congestion. Therefore, it is necessary to utilize weather forecast information for road management, in order to prevent such traffic disruptions.
Furthermore, in recent years, sudden snowfall, heavy snowfall, and blizzards have frequently caused low visibility on the roads, especially in the Hokkaido and Tohoku regions, which makes the use of weather information increasingly important in road management.

Japan Weather Association (JWA) provides detailed forecasts and operational decision-making support information on weather elements that are expected to contribute to traffic disruption at specific points and highway interchanges via fax, e-mail attachments, a dedicated website, etc.

Features

Weather forecast information dedicated to road management, such as road surface conditions and visibility, is provided. This forecast utilizes JWA’s proprietary weather forecast model, which predicts local weather conditions with high accuracy, even in locations with complex topography. In addition, as an optional service, JWA offers 24-hour telephone consultations by the road weather team in case of abnormal weather conditions.

Applications

・Support for road operations and maintenance