From February 21 to 23, Heilongjiang experienced a widespread extreme weather event, with simultaneous alerts for blizzards, strong winds, cold waves, and icy roads. Snowfall exceeded 10 mm at 20 monitoring stations across the province, with individual stations recording over 20 mm. A total of 30 expressways were closed, significantly impacting post-holiday travel.

In response to this weather event, Heilongjiang Provincial Meteorological Service, together with the Office of the Provincial Safety Production Committee and departments including public security, transportation, culture and tourism, and the transportation investment group, activated the province's joint response mechanism for road traffic safety under low-temperature, rain, snow, and freezing disasters on February 20. Based on weather forecasts and early warnings, all departments carried out command and dispatch, patrol and guidance, and snow and ice clearing operations according to their respective responsibilities to ensure safe holiday travel.

Early Warnings: Digital "Sky Eyes" assessing risks

With its vast expanse and complex, variable weather patterns, Heilongjiang frequently experiences extreme winter weather events such as blizzards, cold waves, and strong winds. The province boasts numerous expressway sections and complex urban transportation systems. Particularly in recent years, the growing popularity of ice and snow tourism in Heilongjiang has placed higher demands on the accuracy and precision of meteorological forecasting.

Based on the results of a comprehensive survey of meteorological disaster risks and localized scientific research outcomes from the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, meteorological departments in Heilongjiang have leveraged the provincial-city-county integrated forecasting platform to build a seamless, full-coverage intelligent digital forecasting product system covering 0 to 60 days. It includes warnings for heavy fog on highways and low-temperature icing, achieving spatial resolution forecasts of 1 km for the entire province and 100 m for the Harbin urban area. Public coverage of meteorological early warning information has reached 97%.

Among these, the lead time for road ice and snow warning signals generally reaches 6 to 24 hours. "The release process follows the principle of warning trigger-consultation and assessment-product generation-warning issuance. We comprehensively determine the trigger level of warning thresholds based on snowfall amount, precipitation phase, road surface conditions, and impact level, and provide corresponding defense guidelines for departments such as transportation and public security, as well as the public," said ZHANG Shaofeng, forecaster at Harbin Municipal Meteorological Observatory.

Collaborative Efforts: Ensuring smooth travel

In December 2025, Heilongjiang Provincial Meteorological Service, together with the Office of the Provincial Safety Production Committee, the Provincial Public Security Department, the Provincial Department of Transportation , the Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, and the Provincial Transportation Investment Group Co., LTD, established a joint response mechanism for road traffic safety under low-temperature, rain, snow, and freezing disasters.

Under this mechanism, meteorological departments are required to strengthen refined monitoring and consultation assessments, carry out progressive and precise meteorological services, provide updates on observed weather conditions, forecasts, and warning information, and promptly share the characteristics, adverse impacts, and development trends of meteorological disasters. Other relevant departments are to dispatch resources to key areas and departments across the province based on meteorological forecast information, implement categorized measures such as "one policy per point" and "one plan per route" for congestion relief and smooth traffic on expressways and scenic area roads, and simultaneously carry out snow clearing, de-icing, and anti-skidding operations.

In Harbin, the meteorological department provides a 10-day weather trend forecast in advance and a rolling 3-hourly forecast three days ahead. Based on these forecasts, the urban management department coordinates the deployment of thousands of snow and ice clearing equipment pieces and related personnel across the city in advance, ensuring smooth and safe travel for citizens.

A meteorological monitoring station located along major ice-and-snow tourism routes. Photo: ZHANG Xiaoqing

"The meteorological departments provide forecasts before the snow and rolls out updated information during the snow, effectively ensuring the smooth completion of the city's snow and ice clearing operations," said YANG Cheng, relevant official from the City Appearance and Environmental Sanitation Support Center of the Harbin Urban Management Bureau.

Furthermore, to ensure traffic safety and tourist experience for Heilongjiang's ice-and-snow tourism, on February 3 this year, the Provincial Meteorological Service, together with the Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the Public Security Department, and the Department of Transportation, established an emergency joint command mechanism for traffic protection and smooth flow on major ice-and-snow tourism routes.

Under this mechanism, meteorological departments establish and improve monitoring stations, provide refined meteorological monitoring services for key tourism routes and scenic spots, issue timely warnings for severe weather according to warning standards, clearly defining affected areas, times, impact levels, and defense guidelines, and synchronize real-time weather conditions promptly. When the activation conditions of the mechanism are met, departments implement graded responses based on the impact level of extreme weather such as blizzards and freezing rain on key traffic routes and the risk of tourist stranding. They carry out response and disposal measures, allocate responsibilities, and share information according to their work duties and emergency plans, safeguarding traffic safety.

Author: ZHANG Xiaoqing

Editor: JIANG Zhiqing