WYDOT – NWS – DayWeather, Inc. June 30, 2015 Photo Credit: Jeff Garmon, 2014

 WYDOT  National Weather Service  Cheyenne, Riverton, Salt Lake City, Rapid City, Billings 

 Cooperative relationship WYDOT  DayWeather  NWS  Working together was often disjointed because there were misunderstandings, lack of knowledge of end-goals  Tended to be slightly more reactive

 Improved relationship  Improvement to communication  More consistent, more action-oriented  Highlighted impacts  Coordinated statements Pathfinder helped build structure and an organized path of communication between all parties involved.

1. Start conversation on NWS-chat (all parties) 2. Discussion of Three Main Items: ▪ High impact potential ▪ Location of potential impact ▪ Timing of potential impact 3. Conference call to discuss further if necessary 4. Come to general agreement of main items 5. Disseminate information to public (WYDOT) GOAL : At least 24 hours before storm

NWS Text products Graphical products Social Media WYDOT Dynamic Message Signs Highway Advisory Radios Subscription Alerts BEFORE expected weather event DMS updated with Forecasted message (impact + timing) NWS Warning issued DMS updated with Warning + impact + updated time-frame

Form created for WYDOT TMC to disseminate information accurately

December 24 – 26, 2014 Image from NWS CYS

Snow Accumulation Strong Winds

 Weather concerns:  Strong winds, blowing & drifting snow, slick road conditions  Increased travel expected at night  Cheyenne to Laramie to Fort Collins  CSU/Wyo. basketball game in Laramie, WY February 4 th evening

NWS Jeff Garmon: We will likely issue a statement later today for travel conditions late tonight along I-80. Will also hit harder on Facebook/Twitter as we get into late afternoon along I-80 corridor….and point them to the wyoroad.info website WYDOT Met Julie: …I’m going to give TMC a message to put up [on DMS signs] when there is space. Thinking…”Blowing Snow Expected Tonight Through Thursday 10 AM”. Do you have a more detailed time-frame suggestion? …conditions on 287 will stay snowy/icy, blowing snow probably not as big a concern as on I-80.

 DMS signs updated February 3 rd WINTER WEATHER HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS WED 12 AM – THUR 8 AM I-80 Cheyenne to Laramie

 Previous night closure on I-80 created backup  Larger storm system moved in faster than expected (10-11am band of snow)  More traffic than normal Thursday morning  33% increase (based on WYDOT traffic counts)  Pileup resulted from early snowfall (11am)  long-term closure of I-80 Smaller weather disturbance expected before larger storm

Wed, April 15, 2015 Discussion started. The thinking was…. Weaker snow event night of 15 th (Winter Weather Advisory) Low-level warming possible in between Larger snow event night of 16 th -17 th (Winter Storm Warning) Pathfinder messaging to target larger event

Thurs, April 16, 2015 Discussion continued. Late-morning band of snow created problems on I-80 (pileup situation). Prevented any low-level warming Conference call to discuss afternoon/next-day impacts.

 Improved communication throughout season  Smaller parties (Rapid City WFO, Iteris)  Better understanding of NWS & WYDOT needs and end-goals for public information  NWS  traffic volume data, communication with/TMC  WYDOT  effective messaging (timing, DMS, HARs)  First time WYDOT has displayed forecast information to the public (DMS, , radio)

 Pre-storm messaging DMS  positive results  Traffic analysis to focus on long-term trends  Variables Unique to Wyoming  80% + traffic is commercial, low % commuters

 Slick/blowing snow in-between storms  Difficult to get pre-storm messaging on signs  Smaller storms prior to larger storms  Small weather disturbances can be deceiving  April (example of this)  Combined effort of weather enterprise ▪ Forecasts, road weather impacts, traffic data

 Involving TMC in communication w/NWS  Phone call? NWSchat?  Timing of Information  Focus messages during pre-commute hours  Involving WDOT PIO’s (press releases)  WYDOT Survey  Target on commuters and truckers?

 Keeping Pathfinder-practice all year long  Sharing of more information (traffic, etc.)  Re-arranging schedules for improved DMS message timing  Formal after-storm “pow-wow”  Better understanding of how truckers receive and use weather information  Expansion within WY & east?

Down the road…  Better way to advertise where to get road weather information in states?  More formalized daily communication on overnight shift to set stage for day