The National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience has developed a system to display local weather information on rain, wind, thunder and hail in the Tokyo metropolitan area, dubbed "Sora Check."
The service, which is available on the institute's website, was developed so people can check the weather on their smartphone to ensure safety in bad weather and decide whether or not to cancel outdoor events.
While there have been apps and websites that show rainfall conditions, Sora Check is the first service ever to check the four types of weather information, according to the institute, which is based in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Sora Check uses meteorological data from about 20 devices, including weather radars and observation equipment that can accurately detect wind direction and velocity, installed in the Tokyo metropolitan area. On a map of the Tokyo metropolitan area, spots where the four meteorological phenomena occur are displayed.
On a screen to check rainfall, for instance, the intensity of rain is indicated by color on squares of 250 x 250 meters on a map, and the colors are updated every five minutes.
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