Weather and Highways: Report of a Policy Forum Page: 9
viii, 33 p. : ill.View a full description of this text.
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mobility. For example, RWIS does not have heated precipitation gauges. Hence, they are not able to
observe and report accumulations, freezing, or frozen precipitation. RWIS provides critical weather
and road condition information to maintenance personnel, but the data are generally presented in
simplistic meteorological form requiring interpretation by non-meteorologists. Use of sensor data in
roadway weather analyses and forecasts could be enhanced if standards for field calibration, quality
control, and siting were more readily available. Only in limited situations are statewide RWIS
networks designed for joint purposes of supporting specific maintenance challenges and broader
meteorological applications.
A centralized national distribution of RWIS data would contribute greatly to the use of road weather
data. Efforts to standardize the data are improving with the release of data standards (i.e., NTCIP-
ESS) that will allow consistency in data formats and promote the transfer and exchange of data
without proprietary software. The framework for a national clearinghouse of RWIS data has been
established through the NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory's Meteorological Assimilation Data
Ingest System (MADIS) project (http://www-sdd.fsl.noaa.gov/MADIS). Already a number of state
DOTs provide their RWIS data for distribution using MADIS; however, depending upon constraints
imposed by individual state DOTs, this information does not necessarily provide the full dataset,
which includes both meteorological and road condition information. Many of these constraints are
either from liability concerns (such as the general public misunderstanding and misusing RWIS
data), from proprietary contracts, or from a lack of technical ability to make the information
available.
A national database will promote consistency between states and allow persons traveling across
several states to have seamless data pertinent to their entire route. The data flowing though a
national data collection and dissemination infrastructure would also be used as input to national and
local-scale weather and road condition prediction systems. ITS technologies including in-vehicle
traveler information systems, "511" services, and roadside kiosks would utilize the data flowing
through the weather and road condition infrastructure, which would allow them to provide more
timely and accurate information and alerts during poor weather conditions. The weather and road
condition infrastructure should be designed to provide two-way communication. Users should not
only be able to download data from the network, but upload data as well. For example, the existing
roadside observing systems deployed by many states could serve an additional function. With
modest investments of existing technologies, Data and Information for Driving Safety and Security
(DIDSS) kiosks could be established. These kiosks could serve the function of collecting
supplementary weather and roadway information and sending DIDSS information to passing
vehicles. Selected long-haul carriers could provide invaluable information to verify weather and
roadway conditions as they move about the country. The operators of these vehicles could set
indicators of certain road conditions such as obstructions to visibility, ice and snow, and accidents
that, along with GPS positional information, can be telemetered to roadside kiosks for relay to DOT
management control centers and weather information providers. Transportable Information Pods
(TIPs) could be utilized for temporary site-specific roadway situations such as bridge or road
segment repair, flood damage, and so on and would transmit limited information to passing
vehicles. This information would also be useful for alternate route planning by the vehicle
operators.
Another idea worth considering is the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) selective encoding capability.
Each county and eventually sub parts of a county are identified with a unique number identifier.
Products sent out via NWR are tagged with the specific identifier number of the county for which
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Atmospheric Policy Program American Meteorological Society. Weather and Highways: Report of a Policy Forum, text, 2004; Washington, DC. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc11947/m1/19/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .