Weather Information for Surface Transportation: Research at WTI Contact: Xianming Shi, Ph.D. Program Manager, Winter Maintenance & Effects Western Transportation Institute Phone: (406)

WIST Projects at WTI 1.WeatherShare – Caltrans 2.Evaluation of the UDOT Weather Operations/RWIS Program – UDOT 3.Greater Yellowstone Regional Traveler and Weather Information System – MDT 4.# SAFE Evaluation - UND 5.Safe Passage – MDT/UTC 6.Development of a Surface Transportation Weather Decision Support Tool and Strategic Plan for Improved Highway Operations in Montana - UTC 7.Winter Surface Condition Forecasting - UTC 8.Impacts of Weather on Rural Highway Operations – UTC/Showcase 9.Development of a Roadway Weather Severity Index – UTC/Showcase 10.Assess Caltrans RWIS Devices and Related Sensors – Caltrans 11.Validating the Wet Percent Time for California - Caltrans

WeatherShare Vision (2003) n A surface transportation weather application n Allow users to view a compilation of all available road weather data from various sources in Northern California n Greatly increasing the efficiency of situation assessments for various purposes

WeatherShare Characteristics Leveraging resourcesLeveraging resources Road weather data sharing and integrationRoad weather data sharing and integration Weather data standardization and quality controlWeather data standardization and quality control An easy-to-maintain, cost-effective product powered by an open-source web platform (Linux/Apache + Perl + MySQL + PHP)An easy-to-maintain, cost-effective product powered by an open-source web platform (Linux/Apache + Perl + MySQL + PHP) Scalable, interactive map displays powered by the SVG technologyScalable, interactive map displays powered by the SVG technology Customizable, individualized user interfaces powered by the PHP Smarty template systemCustomizable, individualized user interfaces powered by the PHP Smarty template system Database-driven web pages powered by the MySQL technologyDatabase-driven web pages powered by the MySQL technology

Conclusions WeatherShare has served as a regional showcase and proof-of-concept for the national priority: better weather info. for surface transportation.WeatherShare has served as a regional showcase and proof-of-concept for the national priority: better weather info. for surface transportation. Due to the involvement of multiple stakeholders and the complexity of institutional and technical issues, it is important to develop partnerships among organizations in order to promote the successful integration of road and weather data from various sources.Due to the involvement of multiple stakeholders and the complexity of institutional and technical issues, it is important to develop partnerships among organizations in order to promote the successful integration of road and weather data from various sources. In building a successful ITS system that can meet the users ’ needs, it is crucial to involve the users and stakeholders from its very early stages of design and development and throughout its lifecycle.In building a successful ITS system that can meet the users ’ needs, it is crucial to involve the users and stakeholders from its very early stages of design and development and throughout its lifecycle.

Evaluation of Utah’s Weather Operations/RWIS Program

Overview of Utah’s Program State-of-the-art TOC deployed in preparation for the 2002 Winter OlympicsState-of-the-art TOC deployed in preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympics Staffed MeteorologistsStaffed Meteorologists Real-time inputsReal-time inputs Both urban and ruralBoth urban and rural Salt Lake City found that they saved $16.70 for every $1.00 spent on ATMSSalt Lake City found that they saved $16.70 for every $1.00 spent on ATMS

Utah’s Weather Program and Winter Maintenance Constantly evolvingConstantly evolving More accurate forecastsMore accurate forecasts –Localized knowledge Benefits for winter maintenance crews :Benefits for winter maintenance crews : –More prepared –More efficient –Proactive response –Increase LOS TOC Operations Meteorologists Maintenance Operations

State-of-the-Practice: Snow and Ice List Serve Survey Focus:Focus: Weather forecasts aiding winter maintenance in North America Use of localized, area specific forecasts (benefits and experience) Contacts included:Contacts included: Maintenance Managers, Directors, Superintendents, Engineers, Area Supervisors and Technologists Total of 31 contacts from 19 states and 4 provincesTotal of 31 contacts from 19 states and 4 provinces 68% U.S. State DOT 13% U.S. City Agency 9% Canadian Provincial or Regional Agency 10% Canadian City Agency

States and Provinces Contacted

Research Findings All participants use forecasting for winter maintenance operationsAll participants use forecasting for winter maintenance operations –Including localized, area-specific forecasts –Some respondents felt RWIS services counted as localized, area-specific forecasts Most common service providers:Most common service providers: –Northwest Weathernet (27%) –Meridian (20%) –Meteorologix (13%) –World Weatherwatch (10%) –Accuweather (10%)

Research Findings Most agencies (52%) have been receiving customized forecasts for less than 5 yearsMost agencies (52%) have been receiving customized forecasts for less than 5 years

Summary Benefits of localized, area specific weather forecasts implemented in TMCs:Benefits of localized, area specific weather forecasts implemented in TMCs: –More accurate forecasts (microclimate knowledge) –Advanced warning of storm conditions Better response time, planning, and scheduling of staff –Knowledge of pavement temperatures –Knowledge of precipitation type and amount expected –Better use of chemical product (deciding when to use) –Timely forecast and access to forecaster –Cost effective

Lewistown Cold Regions Rural Transportation Test-bed

Questions?

Goals of the Clarus Initiative WeatherShare Features Supporting Documents Road Wx data standardization, sharing & integration (national) Road Wx data standardization, sharing & integration (national) Road Wx data QC Road Wx data QC Systems Engineering Systems Engineering Multiple stakeholder coordination Multiple stakeholder coordination Prototype for requirements analysis Prototype for requirements analysis Road Wx data sharing & integration (regional) Road Wx data sharing & integration (regional) Wx data QC Wx data QC Systems Engineering Systems Engineering Multiple stakeholder coordination Multiple stakeholder coordination Prototype for requirements analysis Prototype for requirements analysis Open-source Open-source Project Plan Project Plan Concept of Operations Concept of Operations User Requirements User Requirements Configuration Management Plan Configuration Management Plan Facilities Study Report Facilities Study Report Survey for Evaluation Survey for Evaluation

Temperatures from Stations Reporting within the Past Hour

Wind Readings from Stations Reporting within the Past Hour

Data Can be Viewed in Context

Alerts/Thresholds Defined by Authorized Users

Other System Features 1.Automatically push road weather information to the user every 5 minutes 2.Use a map display that permits the user to zoom into, zoom out of, or pan into the area of interest 3.Allow the user to turn on/off various data layers on the interactive map display

Other System Features (Cont’d) 4.Apply quality control procedures for all the real- time reporting stations 5.Allow the user to track historical data for a period of up to one year from present 6.Backup the road weather data on a daily basis and implement a backup mechanism for the server as well