1 National Weather Association 31 st Annual Meeting Cleveland, OH 17 October, 2006 Advancements in Surface Transportation Weather Practices & Technologies Paul Pisano Federal Highway Admin. Andrew Stern Mitretek Systems

2 Adverse Weather - A National Toll 7,400 Lives Lost Annually… Equivalent to 20 Boeing 777’s crashing each year …in Crashes during Adverse Weather

3 25 State DOT Networks + E-470 Highway Authority, Colorado ,615 ESS available via MADIS State DOT ESS Available via NOAA MADIS

4 Clarus Initiative & Transition to NOAA Metar Upper Air Hydro Air- craft Marine ESS STLT Mesonet Profiler Radio meter Integrated Surface Observing System (ISOS) National Surface Weather Observing System (NSWOS) Clarus MADIS Experimental Systems Operational Systems Other Programs Nat’l ESS Collection Data Management Quality Checking Metadata Data Distribution

5 Route Specific Radio & TV Broadcasts of Travel Conditions More Effective Websites Credible & Precise Travel Advice Add Detail to HAR & VMS Spawn New Technologies (PDA, cell) Clarus Enhanced decision making tools In-vehicle Information Clarus – Unlimited Possibilities

6 Route Specific Radio & TV Broadcasts of Travel Conditions More Effective Websites Credible & Precise Travel Advice Add Detail to HAR & VMS Spawn New Technologies (PDA, cell) Clarus Enhanced decision making tools Clarus – Unlimited Possibilities In-vehicle Information

7 Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII)

8 Potential Vehicle Data Elements

9 Meteorological Benefits from VII Millions of observations, 24/7 Benefits include improved: –knowledge of the planetary boundary layer –localization of temperature, precipitation occurrence & type –identification of driver-level visibility –model initialization –understanding of the near surface and pavement

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12 Before MDSS: The Great Divide Winter Road Maintenance Community Meteorological Community Maintenance Plow Operators Garage Supervisors District Administrators Weather Service Providers Researchers General Forecasters

13 MDSS: The Bridge Between Communities Winter Road Maintenance Community Meteorological Community Strengthening Communication Integrating Science & Best Practices Improving Mobility & Safety

14 MDSS Modularity Observations & Models Data Fusion & Integration User Interface Customization Algorithms

15 MDSS Regional Summary Screen

16 MDSS Event Summary Screen

17 Additional Information Paul Pisano –Team Leader, Road Weather Management Clarus Page: – MDSS Page: –