Automated Road Condition Forecasts on a Public Map Service

Purpose of this abstract is to introduce a new fully automated and revolutionary road condition forecast system available for all road users in Finland. The system was delivered for the Finnish Transport Agency as a turnkey solution by the Finnish GIS-company Karttakeskus. The forecasts and weather models are produced by the Finnish Meteorological institute. The aim of the system is to reduce work load of road weather professionals on duty by offering user-friendly road condition information accessible from any location. In addition, all road users can plan and schedule their travel routes according to prevailing road conditions at no extra cost. Road conditions are updated real-time in 15-minute intervals and weather conditions once an hour. The service also provides up-to-date pictures from about two hundred road weather cameras.