On the morning of February 5, the Central Meteorological Observatory continued to issue four meteorological disaster warnings including "blizzard, freezing, heavy fog, and strong wind". When it rains, snows, and freezes during the Spring Festival travel season, how can we make everyone’s journey home safer and smoother? When will this weather cycle end? "News 1+1" Bai Yansong connected with Peng Xuewen, director of the Flood Control and Drought Relief Division of the Hubei Provincial Department of Emergency Management, and Dong Quan, chief forecaster of the Central Meteorological Observatory, to jointly focus on: How will Hubei cope with the most complicated Spring Festival travel season?
At the peak of Spring Festival travel, rain, snow and freezing weather have had a serious impact on railways, highways and aviation. On February 4, more than 30 orange road icing warnings were issued across Hubei province. In terms of railways, many trains in Hubei have been suspended in the past two days, and the Wuhan Railway Department has also made corresponding adjustments based on weather conditions.
How many cars are still stuck on the road? What's the congestion situation like?
Peng Xuewen, Director of the Flood Control and Drought Relief Division of the Hubei Provincial Department of Emergency Management: According to information from the Hubei Provincial Transportation Department, currently affected by freezing rain, there are still 180 kilometers of slow-moving highway sections in Hubei province, involving 9 highways and about 4,000 vehicles. At present, the congestion situation on the highway is gradually easing. There are 52 expressways and 462 toll stations in Hubei Province. During the peak traffic period on the 4th, 296 toll stations were under control. As of today, the number has decreased by 201. Currently, the number of toll stations that are still under control has been reduced to 95. .
What to do if you are stuck on the highway and have the three major needs of "food, hot water, and electricity"?
Bai Yansong: People who have been delayed by rain and snow on the road now face several needs. The first one is of course eating, because many people didn’t expect to be stuck in traffic for such a long time. Next is the low temperature. We need to save fuel and electricity. We don’t dare to turn on the air conditioner, so it’s cold. The third is the need for mobile phone charging. What methods are we using to help everyone solve these problems?
Peng Xuewen, director of the Flood Control and Drought Relief Division of the Hubei Provincial Department of Emergency Management: The province is now taking emergency action, and we plan to clear all the congestion points on the province's highways tomorrow. Nowadays, the highway is actually passable, but some bridges and tunnels are affected by freezing rain and the ice is thick, so they form blockages. For slow-moving vehicles, we mobilized local governments and relevant transportation departments to take many emergency measures, including organizing volunteers and relevant departments to deliver food, medicine, free hot water, and power banks to stranded vehicles. In addition, we also guide them from the nearest exit to nearby towns for temporary accommodation, waiting for the expressway to pass before resuming travel. We will do everything we can to ensure that our Hubei transit passengers can travel smoothly and go home for the New Year with peace of mind.
What are the challenges facing Hubei Province? What is the response idea?
Peng Xuewen, Director of the Flood Control and Drought Relief Division of the Hubei Provincial Department of Emergency Management: Hubei is a province with great flood control, but with the frequent occurrence of extreme weather, rain, snow and freezing disasters are becoming more and more common. This type of disaster involves many departments, has a relatively long extension chain, and has a relatively large impact on the economy and society. This is a challenge for us. At present, the two biggest impacts of freezing rain and snow on Hubei Province are ensuring smooth traffic and ensuring electricity supply. There may not be any major problems with ensuring power supply. The focus now is to ensure smooth traffic, including the fact that we will also face a new round of rain and snow. Although the intensity is smaller than the previous round, due to the superposition of previous disasters , the pressure is still relatively high. In terms of the next step of prevention and response, we must first strengthen research, judgment and dispatch, and urge local governments and relevant transportation departments to remove remaining snow and ice as soon as possible and ensure smooth traffic. Second, coordinate resources and coordinate operations. Third, further optimize travel services.
Pay attention to these reminders when driving back home in rainy, snowy and freezing weather
Peng Xuewen, Director of the Flood Control and Drought Relief Division of the Hubei Provincial Department of Emergency Management: I remind everyone to pay attention to weather changes and road conditions along the way before going out, and to travel off-peak and avoid traffic jams when necessary. In addition, because it is now a period of low temperature, rain, snow and freezing weather, you should try to park your car in an underground garage. If you park it outdoors, avoid parking under a big tree to prevent the ice and snow from breaking the branches and damaging the vehicle. When driving, if you encounter severe weather, you must maintain a safe driving distance, obey the traffic order, do not rush or rush, and drive slowly and orderly. Furthermore, you must slow down when encountering bridges and tunnels to prevent your car from sliding due to ice and slippage. At the same time, do not swerve or slam on the brakes. You must pay attention to traffic safety.
Starting at noon on February 4, widespread snowfall occurred in Shandong. By the morning of the 5th, blizzards occurred in eight cities including Heze, Jining, and Zaozhuang. In Anhui, at 10 a.m. on the 5th, the Anhui Provincial Meteorological Observatory changed its blue snow warning. . What impact has this rainy, snowy, and freezing weather brought? What measures are Shandong, Anhui and other places taking to actively respond?
Precipitation has weakened, but the impact will continue
Bai Yansong: The rain and snow have stopped, but is there still a delayed effect? If localities want to respond well, what do you want to remind them of in particular?
Dong Quan, chief forecaster of the Central Meteorological Observatory: Indeed, especially for freezing rain and snow, the snow has stopped and the freezing rain has stopped. In fact, this impact will still last for a while. Especially for Hunan this time, the biggest impact may be when the snow stops, because it will take some time for the ice on the roads and the snow to melt. All regions are reminded to pay attention to the temperature changes in the later period. For example, in places with snow, such as Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, and Hunan, if the temperature is relatively high during the day, the snow and ice on the roads will melt. If the temperature at night is relatively low, ice will continue to form. Traveling at night after freezing is also very harmful. Therefore, the public is also requested to pay attention, especially when traveling at night, to pay attention to changes in nighttime temperatures. If the temperature is below 0 degrees, and there is obvious snow in the above-mentioned areas in the early stage, you should still drive as little as possible at night.
Is there anything unexpected in the development of this rainy, snowy, and freezing weather?
Dong Quan, chief forecaster of the Central Meteorological Observatory: It should be said that every weather forecast usually exceeds expectations. As far as the course of this rain, snow and freezing weather is concerned, the intensity range is basically consistent with our previous expectations, but there are two places that exceed expectations.
(1) We previously expected that this process would end on the 7th. At present, it may not be basically completed until daytime on the 8th.
(2) The complexity of rain and snow phase changes exceeds expectations. It was previously expected that in places like Hubei and Hunan, rain would turn to sleet, or freezing rain and then turn to snow. Judging from the actual situation, rain turns to sleet, and then freezing rain turns to snow, and then turns back to rain again, which is a mixed state of sleet and freezing rain. Like the snowfall in Hefei, we expected that it might turn into snow on the morning of the 4th, but in fact the conversion time will be later, and the specific details may be slightly different. This information also reflects two world-wide problems in the field of weather forecasting. One is 8-10 day forecast, and the other is refined forecast, which is also a world-wide problem.
The peak of Spring Festival travel in 2024 has arrived. What information should we pay attention to?
Dong Quan, Chief Forecaster of the Central Meteorological Observatory: If you are traveling by car, you should not only pay attention to the weather changes at the departure place and destination, but also pay attention to the weather changes on the road sections you pass. There may be no weather effects at the departure place and destination, but the road sections you pass may. There is freezing rain and snow, so pay attention to the local weather department, especially the Blizzard Warning and Freeze Warning. If the area you are passing through happens to be a warning area, it is recommended to delay your trip as much as possible and not to travel during the warning period. If the freezing rain or snowfall has ended, pay special attention to the road icing warning issued by the local meteorological department, because after the snowfall and freezing rain, there may still be icy roads.