1 Clarus Clarus Nationwide Surface Transportation Weather Observing & Forecasting System Mike Campbell Program Manager NOAA Surface Weather Program U.S. Department of Commerce James Pol, PE ITS Coordinator ITS Joint Program Office U.S. Department of Transportation VII Working Group Briefing December 8, 2004

2 Purpose of Clarus Establish a network for exchanging surface transportation weather observations Craft models and decision support tools that apply the harnessed data Overcome current geographic and temporal gaps

3 Where we are now Concept of Operations Development –Identified user needs –Developing Operational Scenarios –General Information requirements System Design Procurement –Proposals due next month –Completion within 20 months

4 Clarus Use Cases & Operational Scenarios Roadway Maintenance Treatment Function Traffic Operations Function Travel Information Function Transit Management Function Local Emergency and Disaster Management Function Railroad Carrier Operations Function Commercial Vehicle Operation Function NOAA/Federal Weather Function

5 High-level Logical View

6 VII Impact on Overcoming Gaps Three fundamental deficiencies today –Lack of transportation system relevant weather observations –Lack of understanding on how to apply weather information in decision making –Lack of capabilities for predicting and/or assessing surface level weather phenomena VII opens the opportunity for empirical data gathering not possible otherwise

7 VII Impact on Decision Making VII enables enhanced response and planning through improvements to weather observations, models, and predictions –Microscale events for immediate response (e.g., black ice, fog banks) conveyed in seconds to minutes –Mesoscale events for tactical response (e.g., thunderstorms, flash floods) forecast in minutes to hours –Synoptic scale events for strategic response (e.g. blizzards, floods, heat) forecast in hours to days

8 NOAA Priorities Identify valid user needs that cannot be met with existing capabilities Increase and improve information and services that support transportation systems Work with partners to conduct research and development in weather and positioning Improve the transition of research into operations Align activities and partner with the FHWA to maximize benefits of VII

9 Challenges Overcoming paradox of VII deployment –Urban focus on traffic safety –Rural impacts of weather are often more severe, yet coverage will remain limited Making sense of the observations –Volume (filtering, prioritization) –Geographic distribution –Quality assurance –Anonymity of data Coordination with NOAA’s Integrated Surface Observing System

10 Contacts Mike Campbell, NOAA, Surface Weather Program James Pol, ITS Joint Program Office Paul Pisano, Office of Transportation Operations