WEATHER INFORMATION FOR ROADWAY TRANSPORTATION

PRELIMINARY DATA GAP ANALYSIS

Presented to the
COMMITTEE FOR INTEGRATED OBSERVING SYSTEMS
of the
INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR
METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH
Sponsoring Agency
OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL COORDINATOR FOR METEOROLOGY

Prepared by the
ROAD WEATHER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
of the
OFFICE OF TRANSPORTATION OPERATIONS
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

April 2004
Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

INTRODUCTION
In December 2002, the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology (OFCM) released the
“Weather Information for Surface Transportation: National Needs Assessment Report”
(www.ofcm.gov/wist_report/wist-report.htm) describing the unmet weather information needs of
users in six surface transportation sectors. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) was
one of 24 federal agencies, 26 state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), 40 transit agencies,
13 public school districts, and other entities that participated in the Weather Information for
Surface Transportation (WIST) needs identification process. The WIST report also identified
issues related to interagency coordination.

OFCM’s Interdepartmental Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research

(ICMSSR) formed the Committee for Integrated Observing Systems (CIOS) to (1) integrate
global observations of atmospheric, terrestrial, hydrologic, and near-space conditions, (2)
coordinate activities related to the provision of environmental information, and (3) make
recommendations about efficient resource utilization to address technical and non-technical user
needs. During the April 2002 meeting of the CIOS, a task was initiated to conduct a preliminary
data gap analysis identifying deficiencies in weather information services and products for
roadway operators, maintainers, and users. This paper examines road weather data needs, in
light of the operational requirements of roadway transportation managers, to identify weather
data gaps or deficiencies.

1.0 BACKGROUND
The U.S. DOT coordinates national transportation policies and administers programs to enhance
the safety and efficiency of the nation’s transportation systems. The Road Weather Management
Program leads FHWA’s effort to improve road weather information through interfederal
coordination with agencies like the National Weather Service (NWS), the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the OFCM. Road Weather Management Program
goals include quantifying weather impacts, enhancing environmental observing capabilities,
advancing the state-of-the-practice for transportation managers, and promoting road weather
research across constituencies.

In September 1998, the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology briefed the Federal Committee for
Meteorological Services and Supporting Research with a plan—“Look to the Future”—that
identified interagency coordination issues and highlighted the importance of providing better
weather data and developing decision support tools for surface transportation managers. The
federal committee recognized the need to address user requirements in coordination with FHWA
and other public and private sectors partners.

In December 1998, the Director of the U.S. DOT Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint
Program Office briefed the ICMSSR on meteorological requirements for surface transportation.
The ICMSSR directed the formation of the WIST Joint Action Group to address these
information requirements. The OFCM held two WIST symposia, in 1999 and 2000, to begin
compiling weather information requirements for roadways, transit operations, rail, waterways,
pipelines, and airport ground operations.

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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

The FHWA Road Weather Management Program has engaged state DOT personnel to define
their weather information requirements since 1998. In 2000, the program documented the
weather data needs of 44 types of transportation managers in “Surface Transportation Weather
Decision Support Requirements” reports. It was concluded that substantial benefits can be
achieved if transportation managers have access to weather information in a format and on a time
scale tailored for their operations. Addressing weather data gaps will ultimately help the Road
Weather Management Program achieve FHWA strategic goals, shown in Table 1, and result in
better decision support tools for roadway transportation managers.

Table 1 – FHWA Strategic Goals & Road Weather Management Program Objectives
FHWA Road Weather Management
Strategic Goals Program Objectives
Safety Reduce crashes due to weather and poor pavement conditions

Mobility Reduce traffic congestion and travel time delay during inclement weather
Decrease road operating and maintenance costs associated with adverse
Productivity
weather, and minimize weather impacts on freight operations
Environment Minimize impacts of road treatment chemicals on air, soil, and water quality
Facilitate coordinated response, improve evacuation traffic operations, and
National Security
support military movements

2.0 DATA NEEDS OF ROADWAY TRANSPORTATION MANAGERS

Weather acts through visibility impairments, precipitation, high winds, flooding, and temperature
extremes to affect driver capabilities, vehicle performance, pavement friction, traffic flow
roadway infrastructure and highway safety. Weather events also affect productivity by
disrupting access to roads and increasing agency operating and maintenance costs. In order to
plan mitigation strategies and make operational decisions, roadway transportation managers and
travelers require information on weather events (e.g., location, severity, start time) and their
impacts on road networks.

Three types of road weather management strategies may be employed to mitigate environmental
threats: advisory, control, and treatment strategies. Advisory strategies provide information on
prevailing and predicted conditions to both transportation managers and motorists. Control
strategies alter the state of roadway devices to permit or restrict traffic flow and regulate
roadway capacity. Treatment strategies supply resources (e.g., sand, salt) to roadways to
minimize or eliminate weather impacts. Many treatment strategies involve coordination of
traffic, maintenance, and emergency management agencies.

In Table 2 below, various road weather variables from two WIST Data Needs Templates are
summarized with their impacts on roadways, traffic flow, and operations. The “Weather
Requirements for Roadway Transportation” template, which was developed by state DOTs, can
be found at www.ofcm.gov/wist_report/pdf/11-appb-1_roadway.pdf. The “Weather
Requirements for Federal Highway Operations” template is accessible at
www.ofcm.gov/wist_report/pdf/12-appb-1-1-fhwa.pdf.

Table 2 – Weather Impacts on Roads, Traffic, and Operations

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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

Road Weather Roadway Environment Traffic Flow Operational

Variables Impacts Impacts Impacts
Air temperature  Infrastructure damage  Road treatment strategy
--
and humidity (e.g., pavement buckling) (e.g., snow, ice control)

Visibility distance  Vehicle performance
 Traffic speed
(due to blowing snow, dust) (e.g., stability)
Wind speed and  Travel time
direction  Lane obstruction delay
 Access control (e.g., restrict
(due to blowing snow, vehicle type, road closure)
 Crash risk  Evacuation decision support
debris)
 Vehicle performance
 Roadway (e.g., traction)
Precipitation  Visibility distance
capacity  Driver capabilities/behavior
(i.e., occurrence,  Pavement condition
 Traffic speed  Road treatment strategy
type, rate, start  Pavement friction
 Travel time  Traffic signal timing
and end times,  Lane obstruction (due to delay  Speed limit control
accumulation) snow, ice accumulation)
 Crash risk  Evacuation decision support
 Institutional coordination
 Traffic speed
 Driver capabilities/behavior
 Speed variance
Fog, Dust,  Road treatment strategy
 Visibility distance  Travel time
Smoke, or Haze  Access control
delay
 Speed limit control
 Crash risk
Pavement  Infrastructure damage  Road treatment strategy
--
temperature  Pavement condition  Paving, striping operations
 Roadway  Vehicle performance
Pavement capacity  Driver capabilities/behavior
condition (e.g.,  Pavement friction  Traffic speed (e.g., route choice)
wet, icy, snowy,  Infrastructure damage  Travel time  Road treatment strategy
chemicals) delay  Traffic signal timing
 Crash risk  Speed limit control
 Lane obstruction (by
debris)  Traffic speed  Access control
Cyclone (i.e.,
 Lane submersion  Travel time (e.g., road closure)
tornado, water
spout, hurricane)
(due to flooding) delay  Evacuation decision support
 Infrastructure damage  Crash risk (e.g., issue evacuation order)
(due to high winds)
Solar insolation
 Pavement temperature --  Road treatment strategy
or cloud cover
 Traffic speed
Water level  Access control
(streams, rivers,
 Lane submersion  Travel time
 Evacuation decision support
(due to flooding) delay
tides)  Institutional coordination
 Crash risk
Lightning
 Infrastructure damage  Traffic control  Traffic signal timing
(e.g., loss of power service) device failure  Speed limit control

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In order to implement road weather management strategies, transportation managers require

accurate, relevant, and timely environmental data tailored for their decision-making processes
and operational procedures. However, “relevance” and “timeliness” may be defined differently
depending on the operational application. “Relevant” environmental data is presented to the user
in a format that is easily interpreted and suitable for decision support. “Relevant” observations
and forecasts are those at high spatial resolutions (i.e., 130 square feet to 2.5 square miles or 40
square meters to four square kilometers) in the surface boundary layer (i.e., up to six feet or two
meters above ground level) with sufficient metadata detail for surface transportation agencies to
proactively manage roadway networks in inclement weather.

The temporal resolution of weather information will also differ based upon user needs. For
example, a maintenance manager may consider a 24-hour precipitation forecast “timely” for
treatment strategy planning, while a traffic manager requires real-time snow accumulation data
to implement weather-responsive traffic signal timing. For a traveler, a general five-day weather
forecast for an entire county is not as “relevant” as a route-specific pavement condition forecast
(e.g., on westbound Route 00 the roadway is snow-covered between mileposts 100 and 200).

Weather information must correspond to the appropriate time horizon or decision scale, as
different types of management decisions are made at each scale. General weather and
transportation decision scale relationships are described below. Roadway transportation
managers typically need environmental data in four time horizons.

 Climatic Scale (Months to Years) – The climatic time scale includes the planning phase.
Long range forecasts assist transportation managers in making strategic and budgetary
decisions such as purchasing equipment and materials, hiring and training staff, and
coordinating evacuation plans with neighboring jurisdictions. These forecasts are typically
provided at coarse spatial resolutions, based upon averages over large geographic areas.

 Synoptic Scale (Hours to Days) – During the synoptic time scale, transportation managers
monitor weather events to identify threatened routes and make operational decisions such as
scheduling (e.g., placing maintenance crews on standby), preparing equipment (e.g.,
prepositioning traffic control devices for hurricane evacuation), and selecting road weather
management strategies. To make these types of decisions, managers utilize regional to
national forecasts of weather fronts and large air masses typically provided twice per day.

 Mesoscale (Minutes to Hours) – In the mesoscale time frame, operational decisions are also
made with regional to local road weather information. At this scale, managers implement
road weather management strategies such as activation of automated anti-icing systems,
reducing speed limits, and closing flooded roads. Transportation managers require high-
resolution weather data on spatially small events like thunderstorms and tornadoes that
develop and dissipate rapidly.

 Microscale (Seconds to Minutes) – The microscale time horizon includes the warning phase.
During this time period, managers use very high resolution (i.e., less than a few square
kilometers), localized road weather data to issue warnings to the traveling public. Actions
may include posting warnings on dynamic message signs, and activating a fog warning
system.

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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

3.0 CURRENT ROAD WEATHER DATA SOURCES

This section describes road weather data resources that are available to the roadway
transportation community. In this domain, road weather data comes from many different
observing systems. Much of the observing infrastructure is independently owned and operated
by state DOTs, local agencies, and private meteorological service providers.

3.1 Environmental Sensor Stations

Environmental Sensor Stations (ESS) are typically deployed as the field components of Road
Weather Information Systems (RWIS). An ESS is a fixed roadway location with one or more
sensors measuring atmospheric, pavement, and/or hydrologic (i.e., water level) conditions. Data
collected from environmental sensors are stored locally and transmitted to a central location via a
communication system. Central RWIS hardware and software collect field data from numerous
ESS, process data, and display or disseminate road weather data in a format tailored for decision-
making.

Currently, there are over 2,000 ESS owned by state transportation agencies. Most of these
stations—over 1,400—are field components of RWIS, which are typically used to support winter
road maintenance activities. A national map depicting the number of ESS in each state can be
viewed at www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/mitigating_impacts/essmap.htm.

3.2 Environmental Observing Systems

To monitor weather events in real-time, many transportation managers access mesoscale
environmental monitoring networks (or mesonets) outside of the roadway transportation domain.
These mesonets ingest and fuse data from many sources, store relevant data in centralized
databases, and disseminate information in useful formats. Atmospheric observations are
traditionally provided by NOAA weather observers, the cooperative observer network, county
governments, school districts, and local forecasters. Much of the observing infrastructure,
including the NWS Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) and the Automated Weather
Observing System (AWOS), was deployed to serve the Federal Aviation Administration and the
airline industry. Observing systems designed for other applications—such as Doppler radar—
may also be leveraged for various roadway transportation applications. Other potential data
sources include the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), the USDA Forest Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as
observing infrastructure owned by state and local agencies.

Some DOTs have established relationships with local weather forecast offices of the NWS to
provide tailored weather predictions based upon local climatology and topography. Partnerships
with researchers at local universities have also made mesonet data available to state DOTs. For
example, the Iowa DOT shares their ESS data with the Iowa Environmental Mesonet developed
by Iowa State University (http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/). This observing system collects,
compares, archives, and disseminates high-resolution observations made throughout the state of
Iowa. The mesonet does not own or operate any of the automated observing stations, which are
used for a wide range of applications. By participating, the DOT has convenient access to
supplemental data on environmental conditions across the state.

The Washington State DOT has collaborated with the University of Washington and the
Northwest Weather Consortium to share weather data. The consortium collects and disseminates
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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

data from over 450 ESS owned by nine federal, state, and local agencies. Data from the DOT’s
ESS are transmitted to the Seattle Traffic Management Center and to the University’s
Department of Atmospheric Sciences for data fusion and advanced modeling. A sophisticated
model predicts pavement temperatures and generates high-resolution, numerical weather
forecasts for the entire state. Data from ESS are also integrated with other information (e.g.,
NWS forecasts, satellite and radar images, CCTV video, traffic flow data, incident and
construction data) to furnish the public with route-specific traveler information via telephone and
the DOT’s Traffic and Weather Web Site (www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic).

3.3 Video Surveillance

Some ESS are equipped with Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras. Video surveillance of
urban freeways has become common with deployment of advanced traffic management systems.
Thousands of CCTV surveillance systems are owned by state and local transportation agencies
throughout the country. Video images can be analyzed to determine visibility distance relative to
calibrated landmarks, approximate qualitative indications of weather and road conditions (i.e.,
distinguish differences in pavement appearance caused by water, snow, or ice), and estimate
snow or ice depths against visual gauges.

3.4 Mobile Sensing

Mobile sensing involves the integration of environmental sensors with vehicle systems. In
combination with Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies, vehicle-mounted sensor
systems can be utilized to measure atmospheric and pavement conditions. Transportation
agencies in Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota have partnered to deploy and evaluate advanced
maintenance vehicles equipped with mobile sensors that measure pavement friction coefficient
and determine pavement freeze point temperature. Automobile manufacturers are also equipping
passenger vehicles with advanced technologies that can serve as mobile environmental sensors.
With respect to road weather information applications, deployment of these technologies is in its
infancy but shows great promise.

3.5 Remote Sensing

Remote sensors are typically part of radar or satellite systems used for surveillance of
meteorological and oceanographic conditions. Images and observations from these sensors are
used to monitor and predict global weather phenomena. Remote sensing is used for measuring
atmospheric temperature and wind patterns, monitoring advancing fronts and storms (e.g.,
hurricanes, blizzards), imaging of water (i.e., oceans, lakes, rivers, soil moisture, vapor in the air,
clouds, snow cover), as well as estimating runoff and flood potential from thawing.

Water in its gaseous state, or water vapor, is essential in the development and propagation of
weather. Water vapor has historically been a poorly characterized meteorological variable
because its distribution fluctuates widely, both spatially and temporally, and it is difficult to
measure using traditional atmospheric observing systems. The FHWA collaborated with NOAA,
the National Geodetic Survey/Continuously Operating Reference Station, and the Coast Guard to
develop a Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS) capable of observing
precipitable water vapor.
The NDGPS is comprised of systems that measure satellite signal delays caused by atmospheric
vapor. Twenty-four GPS satellites in Earth’s orbit emit radio signals to ground instruments,
which accurately compute precipitable water vapor data every 30 minutes. The NDGPS
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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

provides three-foot (or one-meter) accuracy, which is more precise than the civilian GPS. This
high accuracy is expected to improve to 0.8 to 8.0 inches (or two to 20 centimeters) in the near
future. NDGPS data, accessible at www.gpsmet.noaa.gov/jsp/index.jsp, has been used to
improve the accuracy of short-term, precipitation forecasts disseminated by the NWS.

4.0 CLOSING ROAD WEATHER DATA GAPS

The OFCM compiled and validated user-defined needs for weather data in the WIST report. The
report also identified several requirements to meet these needs including data standards, a
national data collection system, open information systems, targeted technology development and
applied research, as well as expanded outreach and education. The WIST report concluded that
the value of currently available weather data products can be increased by (1) providing more
accessible information to more users via open systems, (2) customizing the content and format of
data products for potential users, and (3) integrating products into user decision support systems.
The report authors found that road weather data gaps or deficiencies can be addressed with
higher resolution forecasts and observations, as well as better forecast accuracy. This section
discusses data gaps related to the spatial and temporal resolution, data quality and data exchange,
as well as non-technical issues.

4.1 Spatial Resolution

In the early 1980s, state transportation agencies began deploying environmental observing
infrastructure. To date, these agencies have installed thousands of ESS nationwide to support
weather-related decisions of roadway transportation managers. The NWS currently provides
general weather forecasts for county-wide areas. However, these predictions do not provide
adequate geographic coverage for all major road segments to develop route-specific weather
information products. To quantify this data gap, the Road Weather Management Program
sponsored development of a report titled “Weather in the Infostructure”
(www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/best_practices/WeatherInInfostructure2003.pdf), which
ascertained the number and estimated cost of ESS needed to support basic road weather
information needs in 61 major metropolitan areas.

A more detailed analysis of environmental sensor density is needed to close weather data gaps
related to spatial resolution. This analysis should minimally include consideration of
microclimatology and local topography; supplementing ESS observations with those from
remote and mobile sensors; accessing observing systems and data collected for other domains;
assessment of statewide needs including critical military routes, evacuation routes, and major
signalized corridors; as well as sensor coverage in rural areas. Following the analysis, a
coordinated effort could be initiated to provide managers with consistent national guidance.

4.2 Temporal Resolution

Surface transportation managers require different types of weather data at various temporal
resolutions to make planning, operational, or warning decisions. In Table 3 the decision scales
are related to weather information scales and management functions. To support each type of
decision, environmental data must be provided in the appropriate time horizon.

Table 3 – Road Weather Information and Surface Transportation Management Decisions

Weather Decision Time Management Function

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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

Scales Scales Horizon Examples

 Design facilities and systems
Climatic Months to
Planning  Procure resources (e.g., hire/train staff, buy equipment)
Scale Years
 Coordinate with adjacent states
 Identify threatened roads and populations
Synoptic Hours to
Operational  Consider mitigation strategy alternatives
Scale Days
 Manage resource deployment (e.g., call in maint. crews)
 Select mitigation strategies (e.g., advise, control, treat)
Minutes to
Mesoscale Operational  Control traffic flow (e.g., reduce speed limit)
Hours
 Treat roads, bridges, ramps (e.g., apply chemicals, plow)
 Activate warning systems
Seconds to
Microscale Warning  Post travel conditions and restrictions on web site
Minutes
 Broadcast road conditions (e.g., highway advisory radio)

5.2.1 Road Weather Information for Planning Decisions

Long-range forecast data are used to make planning decisions. These data are typically limited
to general predictions of atmospheric conditions furnished by the NWS. Weather data
deficiencies for planning purposes include insufficient data types (i.e., surface and hydrologic
conditions) and lack of forecast precision. Transportation managers may fill these data gaps by
identifying sources used in other domains, such as predictions of extreme flooding or drought
based upon observations at USGS stream gauging stations. More precise forecasts of climatic
conditions could provide managers with decision support needed to ensure public safety, protect
roadway infrastructure, and conserve limited resources.

5.2.2 Road Weather Information for Operational Decisions

Maintenance and traffic managers usually rely upon hourly weather observations furnished by
the NWS and more frequent data from private vendors. During hurricane season, emergency
managers utilize tropical storm and hurricane forecasts from the National Hurricane
Center/Tropical Prediction Center produced every six hours. These managers use synoptic or
near-term weather data to assess and prepare for adverse impacts on roadway networks.
Mesoscale observations and forecasts (known as nowcasts) are used during implementation of
control and treatment strategies.

Winter maintenance managers need near-term predictions (e.g., 0 to 48 hours) of both

atmospheric and pavement conditions to make decisions about the timing and type of road
treatment strategy (i.e., proactive vs. reactive). A traffic manager may use synoptic forecasts and
nowcasts to plan and implement traffic control measures (e.g., detours around flooded road
segments). Emergency managers need more frequent forecasts of storm track and severity to
mobilize for evacuations and determine the appropriate times to issue evacuation orders.

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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

To address these weather data deficiencies, the Road Weather Management Program sponsored
development of an operational concept for a Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS). A
team of national laboratories designed a MDSS functional prototype that integrates
environmental data, road condition data, material inventory data, crew shift data, and winter
maintenance rules of practice to recommend route-specific treatment strategies. The first field
demonstration of the prototype was successfully conducted from February to April 2003. Using
lessons learned from the first demonstration, a second field evaluation was carried out from
December 2003 to March 2004.

The Road Weather Management Program has also initiated efforts to understand the weather
information needs of traffic operators and managers. The program documented research needs to
advance the state-of-the-practice in a paper titled “Research Needs for Weather-Responsive
Traffic Management”. Another paper, “Weather-Responsive Traffic Management: Concept of
Operations”, focused on the information requirements of freeway and arterial managers and how
these needs change during adverse weather. These efforts will assist in the development of
functional requirements and key data flows for this user group. Once user requirements are
defined, researchers can begin to create data processing tools and decision support systems using
lessons learned from the MDSS. The refined data and information from such systems will, in
turn, enable transportation managers to implement more effective road weather management
strategies, providing more effective traffic operations.

5.2.3 Road Weather Information for Warning Decisions

Environmental observations used for operational decision-making can often meet data needs for
warning decisions, if sensors are collocated with warning devices. Based upon microscale or
real-time observations, motorists can be alerted of travel conditions and restrictions via roadway
warning systems, web sites, interactive telephone systems, personal communication devices
(e.g., pagers, PDAs), and in-vehicle devices.

Automated roadway warning systems are deployed around the country to warn motorists of
recurring, localized hazards such as black ice, low visibility, high winds, and flooding. Roadway
warning systems typically utilize real-time ESS data and onsite processors to activate devices
such as ramp gates, variable speed limit signs and dynamic message signs. Recently the FHWA
has been examining non-recurrent events contributing to major multi-vehicle crashes. In
October 2002, 11 people were killed and dozens were injured as 38 cars collided in near zero
visibility on a Wisconsin freeway. In November 2002, a 200-vehicle crash occurred in fog on
the Long Beach Freeway, injuring 41 people. In May 2003, on Interstate 68 in western
Maryland a fog-related, 73-vehicle crash killed two people, injured 60 and resulted in a 24-hour
road closure. In April 2003, high winds (up to 130 mph) and blowing dust caused several road
closures in southern New Mexico and a 10-vehicle crash on U.S. 180 that resulted in two
fatalities and five injuries. To address gaps in weather data needed for warning decisions, both
recurring and non-recurring weather events are being studied to determine if their impacts can be
mitigated with existing or proposed resources. Data needs for non-recurrent events may require
special attention as filling this gap can be harder to cost-justify.

Many state transportation agencies disseminate current road weather observations through web
sites and via telephone to support the travel decisions of the public (i.e., mode, route choice,
departure time, vehicle type/equipment, and driving behavior). In July 2001 the Federal
Communications Commission designated 511 as the national traveler information telephone
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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

number. In June 2003, The 511 Deployment Coalition released a Deployment Assistance Report
—“Weather and Environmental Content on 511 Services”—to recommend basic content and
provide for consistency in 511 systems as they are implemented across the country. Since these
systems are in their infancy, gaps exist in defining the types of road weather information
travelers desire, appropriate data formats, as well as the frequency and detail needed for the
public to make safe and effective travel decisions. To close these gaps, preliminary consumer
research has been conducted to gauge public needs for road weather information. ITS America
is planning additional consumer research, including a national survey and 511 call intercepts, to
address these needs.

4.3 Data Quality

Quality control of weather data is also important to roadway transportation managers, as
erroneous data can lead to ineffective decision-making that could result in crashes, congestion,
and wasted resources. Much of the available weather data are not of uniform quality as various
sensor siting criteria, test procedures, processing software, and display formats are used by
different agencies and weather information providers.

Rigorous standards for sensor siting and calibration, data validation, as well as data processing
and presentation are needed to address deficiencies and inconsistencies in the quality of weather
data used by transportation managers. Public and private research efforts are currently underway
to develop guidance or criteria to improve data quality. However, resources are needed to verify
and validate the criteria and to promote their adoption and implementation by deployers.

4.3.1. Sensor Siting and Calibration

There are no consistent criteria used to site, or locate, environmental sensors in the roadway
environment. Optimal siting of ESS is based on application (e.g., surveillance, monitoring,
prediction) and local conditions (e.g., road infrastructure, topography, microclimatology). To
close this data gap the Road Weather Management Program is developing ESS Siting Guidelines
for transportation managers. The ESS Siting Guidelines project will produce consistent guidance
for state and local agency personnel responsible for procuring, siting, operating, and maintaining
ESS along the nation’s roads. Proper sensor siting can result in more accurate environmental
observations and forecasts, improved decision support, and better dissemination tools for public
advisories.

Once deployed, environmental sensors must be calibrated and maintained to ensure data
accuracy and precision. Calibration standards outline test procedures to compare sensor
performance to established criteria that minimize errors. Such standards are essential to ensuring
accurate, reliable, uniform observations. Calibration standards for atmospheric and hydrologic
sensors used in other domains (e.g., aviation, flood control) may not be suitable for the roadway
environment. Efforts to address gaps due to calibration of surface sensors were undertaken by
the Aurora Program, an international RWIS research consortium, and the National Cooperative
Highway Research Program (NCHRP). Aurora has documented the state-of-the practice in
pavement sensor calibration in a report titled “Standardized Testing Methodologies for Pavement
Sensors”, which found that over 60 percent of RWIS operators performed no calibration of
environmental sensors before or after installation. This report prompted the NCHRP to plan
research on “Testing and Calibration Methods for RWIS Sensors”. Research tasks include
reviewing current calibration methods for various sensor types, field testing selected methods in

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various climatic conditions, and development of concise guidelines for distribution to RWIS
users. The expected completion date of this research project is May 2005.

In addition to fixed ESS, calibration of mobile sensors is also important. The Snow and Ice
Pooled Fund Cooperative Program (SICOP) of the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a group of federal, state, and local transportation official
interested in improving winter road maintenance. Weather data quality issues are discussed on a
list-serve on the SICOP website (www.sicop.net). Regarding calibration of mobile pavement
temperature sensors, list-serve participants found that emissivity factors of infrared sensors
require calibration for various pavement conditions (i.e., dry, wet, icy, snow-covered). During
mobile sensing, the emissivity factor must be changed for different conditions to avoid incorrect
temperature readings. Mobile sensors using other technologies may need to be examined to
assess the need for calibration standards.

4.3.2. Data Validation

Road weather observations should be validated to ensure data accuracy and to foster user
confidence in the data collected from environmental sensors. In 2001, the NWS and the FHWA
began a joint research effort to evaluate how ESS data can best be used for road condition
prediction and general weather forecasting. Through the Cooperative Program for Operational
Meteorology, Education and Training (COMET), five universities received federal funding to
investigate a variety of research subjects in coordination with local weather forecast offices of
the NWS and state DOTs. Once completed, findings from research projects will be published on
the COMET web site (www.comet.ucar.edu).

Research projects goals include examination and validation of the accuracy of ESS data.
Preliminary results indicate that the data are of good to very good quality, though some
inconsistencies exist due to poor siting, non-aspirated sensors, and lack of calibration. These
projects present real opportunities for further research that may ultimately result in improved
operational and maintenance practices that close gaps related to weather data validation.
Practitioners must be educated on siting issues and the benefits of calibration and validation
before they will uniformly adopt and implement such standards. Development of consistent
practical guidance and targeted dissemination of outreach materials can help close gaps in
weather data quality.

4.3.3. Data Processing

Once collected, environmental data must be processed to create useful products for decision-
makers. Because most roadway transportation managers are not trained in meteorology, weather
data must be tailored and presented in a format that they can easily interpret. Currently, NWS
general weather forecasts are provided in the form of narrative text. Some private
meteorological service providers utilize these general forecasts, with other data, to deliver
customized road weather forecasts to state transportation agencies. Many of these private sector
forecasts incorporate data from state Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and include
interactive graphics, such as color-coded road segments based upon pavement temperature.
The deficiencies associated with weather data processing are a lack of digital products at fine
spatial resolutions, and the inability to predict or interpolate conditions on road segments without
sensors. To help fill these data gaps, the NWS is currently building a National Digital Forecast
Database (www.nws.noaa.gov/ndfd) that can be used to predict route-specific conditions across

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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

the country with greater specificity and accuracy. This database will allow transportation
managers to access much more atmospheric data at desired spatial and temporal resolutions for
their unique applications. Integrating such data with GIS, observations and metadata from
mesonets, road attribute data, traffic flow data and other relevant data would help eliminate data
gaps related to processing.

4.4 Data Sharing

Transportation managers share environmental data with other divisions in their agencies,
neighboring jurisdictions, mesonet operators, the NWS, private vendors and the traveling public.
Effective and efficient data exchange requires interoperable systems with known structures or
architectures and standards to establish communication between architecture components.
Because environmental sensors are owned by different entities, procured from different vendors,
deployed in numerous configurations, and used for various applications gaps exist in the areas of
technological compatibility and communications standards. Transportation managers, the
meteorological community, and the private sector must work together to make environmental
information more accessible, support fusion of disparate data sources, produce route-specific
weather information, and promote interagency, regional and national coordination. While some
work is underway to exchange environmental data and participate in mesonets, this is not
occurring nationwide.

There is no integrated network of environmental sensors to provide data needed by roadway

transportation managers. Historically, isolated system design, high maintenance costs,
decentralized operations, proprietary data ownership, and firewall security constraints have
limited DOT RWIS expansion and integration. Several efforts have been initiated to better
understand and address these gaps. The Aurora and ENTERPRISE Programs released a report
titled “Road Weather Information System (RWIS) Data Integration Guidelines” that presents a
comprehensive view of the state-of-the-practice and provides a conceptual design for road
weather data integration.

The NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory has designed the Meteorological Assimilation Data
Ingest System (MADIS) that collects and integrates data from many surface observing systems,
hydrological monitoring networks, and other sources such as balloon-borne instruments and
aircraft sensors. The MADIS (www-sdd.fsl.noaa.gov/MADIS/) disseminates reliable, value-
added, quality-controlled data to subscribers through a database containing real-time and
archived datasets. Currently, only 12 State DOTs provide RWIS data to the MADIS, which
collects over 6,000 surface weather observations each hour. The Road Weather Management
Program has partnered with NOAA to foster deployment of a national, integrated road weather
observing network and data management system. This initiative aims to interconnect ESS
deployed by State DOTs and integrate ESS data with data from mobile and remote sensing
platforms.

To expand systems such as MADIS and achieve a nationwide road weather observing network,
surveillance systems must be interoperable and environmental sensors must be interchangeable.
Interoperability is the ability of systems or devices to provide information to, and receive
information from, other systems or devices such that they operate effectively as a single system.
For example, an interoperable system would allow a maintenance garage to send road weather
data to a Traffic Management Center (TMC), and receive traffic flow data from the TMC,
without multiple data conversion steps. Interchangeability allows devices of the same type,
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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

made by different vendors, to be substituted for one another and interact on the same
communication channel. Interoperability and interchangeability are achieved through system
architectures and non-proprietary communication standards.

4.4.1. System Architecture

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) apply advanced computing and information
technologies to roadway transportation networks in order to improve safety, mobility, and
productivity. The National ITS Architecture (http://itsarch.iteris.com/itsarch/) is the structure
used to plan, design, and ITS, which are vital to collection and dissemination of road weather
information. The architecture identifies required ITS standards by defining subsystems or
physical entities (e.g., maintenance vehicle, traffic management center), their functions or
activities, and the data flows connecting subsystems and functions.

The Road Weather Management Program has worked with the ITS Program to incorporate
weather information flows in the National ITS Architecture. Within the architecture, market
packages combine several different subsystems, equipment packages, terminators, and
architecture flows to provide desired services. Services for weather information applications
were not officially added to the National ITS Architecture until Version 4.0 was released in
2001.

In the current version of the National ITS Architecture (i.e., Version 5.0) weather-related market
packages within the Maintenance and Construction Management service area include
Maintenance and Construction Vehicle and Equipment Tracking, Maintenance and Construction
Vehicle Maintenance, Road Weather Data Collection, Weather Information Processing and
Distribution, Roadway Automated Treatment, Winter Maintenance, Roadway Maintenance and
Construction, and Maintenance and Construction Activity Coordination. As weather information
services for transportation managers expand, additions will be reflected in subsequent versions of
the National ITS Architecture. To foster data sharing outside of the transportation domain, the
National ITS Architecture must be compared to network architectures for other weather
observing systems.

4.4.2. Communication Standards

The U.S. DOT promotes interoperable systems through the ITS Standards Program
(www.standards.its.dot.gov/standards.htm), which develops standards detailing how various
systems are interconnected within the framework of the National ITS Architecture.
Communication protocols for RWIS are being developed under the National Transportation
Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP) standards development effort. The NTCIP is a set of
non-proprietary standards that make it possible for RWIS and other ITS devices from multiple
vendors to exchange information.

The NTCIP includes object definitions for ESS, which were initially published in October 1998
and amended in January 2001. Release of Version 2.0 of the ESS object definitions document
(i.e., NTCIP 1204) is expected in June 2004. This document describes data collected from
weather, pavement, hydrologic, and air quality sensors. The standard can be used to integrate
disparate environmental sensors into a central system with common data sets and
communications protocols. The NTCIP ESS standard has been successfully tested in Minnesota
and Washington State. Additional information about the “Minnesota DOT Statewide R/WIS

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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

Project” can be found at www.ntcip.org/library/documents/pdf/9008v01-06.pdf. The case study

on the “Washington State DOT Statewide ESS Procurement” project is accessible at
www.ntcip.org/library/documents/pdf/9009v01-05.pdf.

4.5 Non-Technical Issues

Potential benefits from ESS deployments will not be realized if transportation managers do not
use or share environmental data due to non-technical concerns such as intellectual property,
liability, training, and institutional coordination. In addition to weather information needs, the
organizational culture, operational policies, decision-making procedures, and technical
capabilities of users must be carefully considered during RWIS design and implementation to fill
non-technical gaps.

4.5.1. Liability
One of the greatest impediments to sharing road weather data is liability. The roles and
responsibilities of the public and private sector as road weather data providers are still evolving
and many officials are unclear to what extent they will be accountable if the data they provide is
misinterpreted, misrepresented, or inaccurate. The federal government is immune to liability for
inaccurate or inadequate weather forecasts under the Federal Tort Claims Act. However, state
governments have been held liable for negligently providing inaccurate information. The
constant threat of litigation has made some agencies reluctant to share road weather information.
Some state DOTs only furnish near-surface ESS data without surface and subsurface data. Such
practices, in effect, create residual gaps in providing environmental observation and forecast data
to decision makers, travelers, and others. There is a need to resolve liability concerns to
maximize the use and dissemination of environmental data.

To address these concerns some transportation agencies have consulted with their legal
departments to develop disclaimer statements for 511 services, web sites, and cooperative or
commercial contracts. Such disclaimers typically state that actual road or weather conditions
may vary from those reported and that users should be aware of changing conditions.
Commercial contracts for use of ESS data should contain indemnification provisions to protect
state agencies.

4.5.2. Education and Training

Transportation managers and travelers must be educated to understand what road weather data is
available and how this information can support their operational decisions. There is a need to
target training to different users with various needs for road weather data products. To close
these gaps, the Road Weather Management Program has developed resources and designed
training courses. The program created the “Best Practices for Road Weather Management” CD-
ROM and report, which contain 30 road weather management case studies, a listing of over 200
road weather publications, an overview of environmental sensor technologies, and online
resources.

The FHWA is also offering a training course on the “Fundamentals of Road Weather
Management” through the National Highway Institute (www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov). This course will
introduce transportation managers to RWIS and how these systems can be applied to address a
host of weather-related problems. The objectives of the course are to provide background on the
fundamentals of meteorology as they pertain to RWIS, to provide participants with the skills to
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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

recognize crosscutting weather impacts on roadway operations, to explain the range of effective
and open RWIS solutions for various management practices, and to identify the technical and
institutional challenges of implementing RWIS. A follow-up course on “RWIS Implementation”
is also planned.

The FHWA has partnered with SICOP and Aurora to develop an Anti-Icing/RWIS Training
Program. The computer-based training program covers many topics including an introduction to
anti-icing and winter maintenance, winter road maintenance management, winter roadway
hazards and mitigation principles, weather basics, weather and roadway monitoring for anti-icing
decisions, computer access to road weather information, and anti-icing practice in winter
maintenance operations.

4.5.3. Institutional Coordination

Policy, liability, and other institutional concerns can hinder efforts to integrate RWIS and
exchange environmental information. Despite the challenges in bridging this divide, public-
private and interagency relationships are potentially cost-effective way of closing the gap
between the information “haves” and “have-nots.” By coordinating ESS deployments with other
agencies, the need for redundant infrastructure can be eliminated and operating and maintenance
costs can be minimized. Written agreements can ensure that the needs of all partners are met by
documenting requirements and clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of each partner and
how each will benefit from the alliance. These and other solutions need to be explored further
and promoted as gap fillers.

5.0 CONCLUSION

This paper characterized road weather data needs for roadway transportation managers,
described available road weather data sources, and identified road weather data gaps related to
spatial and temporal resolution, data quality, data sharing, and non-technical issues. The
following paragraphs summarize road weather data gaps related to spatial and temporal
resolution, data quality and data sharing, as well as non-technical issues.

Generally, ESS deployments and public-sector forecasts are inadequate to provide weather
information products at the spatial resolution desired by roadway transportation managers. A
dense network of environmental sensors on the entire National Highway System is needed to
produce route-specific road weather observation and predictions. Managers utilize road weather
information at different temporal resolutions to make planning, operational, and warning
decisions. Synoptic scale forecasts (e.g., 0 to 48 hours) must be improved to support these
decisions, minimize crashes due to non-recurrent events (e.g., fog), and provide road weather
information to travelers.

Deficiencies and inconsistencies in the quality of road weather data are related to inadequate,
inconsistent standards for sensor siting in the roadway environment and standards for calibrating
atmospheric, pavement, hydrologic, and mobile sensors. Gaps associated with road weather data
processing are due to the lack of digital products at fine spatial resolutions, and the inability to
predict conditions on road segments that are not instrumented. To facilitate interagency and
interstate data exchange there is a need for an integrated network of interchangeable
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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

environmental sensors, achieved through interoperable systems and non-proprietary

communication standards. In addition to technological barriers liability issues, inadequate
training, and lack of institutional coordination have limited system integration and sharing of
environmental information. Roadway transportation managers, meteorologists, and researchers
have initiated efforts to address the all types of road weather data gaps.

Through an interdisciplinary approach including scientific research and promotion of advanced

decision support tools, the Road Weather Management Program hopes to focus attention on
roadway transportation in order to obtain legislative authority and dedicated funding for a
coordinated, national road weather research program. Such a program was recommended in a
report by the National Research Council, “Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research
Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services” (www.nap.edu/catalog/10893.html). The
proposed national road weather research program would seek to (1) maximize the use of
available road weather information; (2) expand road weather research and development to better
understand road weather phenomena and enhance safety, mobility, and productivity; and (3)
effectively implement new scientific and technological advances, such as improved observing,
modeling, forecasting, and dissemination tools designed for roadway transportation managers.

The FHWA Road Weather Management Program serves as a bridge between the meteorological
and roadway transportation communities. The program will work with the OFCM Committee
for Integrated Observing Systems (CIOS), and other federal partners, to better understand the
impacts of weather on roadways, and promote strategies to mitigate those impacts. Envisioned is
a system that provides “Anytime, Anywhere Road Weather Information” for road operating
agencies and road users, as well as a competitive market for commercial road weather services.

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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

6.0 REFERENCES

1. 511 Deployment Coalition, “Weather and Environmental Content on 511 Services,”

Deployment Assistance Report #6, June 2003, www.deploy511.org/docs/511-
dar6weatherenviroservices.pdf.

2. Al-Qadi, et al, “Feasibility of Using Friction Indicators to Improve Winter Maintenance

Operations and Mobility,” National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation
Research Board, http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/nchrp/nchrp_w53.pdf.

3. Arnold, J., “New Applications Make NDGPS More Pervasive,” Turner-Fairbank Highway
Research Center, FHWA, January/February 2001,
www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/janfeb01/newapps.htm

4. Cambridge Systematics, Inc., “Weather-Responsive Traffic Management: Concept of

Operations,” draft, January 2003,
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/best_practices/WeatherConOps0103.pdf.

5. Castle Rock Consultants, “Environmental Sensor Systems for Safe Traffic Operations,”
prepared for the FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, FHWA-RD-95-073,
October 1995.

6. Castle Rock Consultants, “Review of the Institutional Issues relating to Road Weather
Information System (RWIS),” August 1998, www.aurora-program.org/pdf/inst_issues.pdf.

7. Castle Rock Consultants, “Road Weather Information System (RWIS) Data Integration
Guidelines,” prepared for the ENTERPRISE and Aurora Programs, October 2002,
http://www.aurora-program.org/pdf/RWIS_Data_Integration_rpt.pdf.

8. Castle Rock Consultants, “Standardized Testing Methodologies for Pavement Sensors,”

prepared for the Aurora Program, December 1999,
http://www.aurora-program.org/pdf/stmph1_final.pdf.

9. Center for Transportation Research and Education, “Highway Maintenance Concept Vehicle,
Final Report: Phase Four,” Iowa State University, June 2002,
www.ctre.iastate.edu/reports/Concept4.pdf.

10. FHWA, “An Introduction to Standards for Road Weather Information System (RWIS),” July
2002, Road Weather Management Program,
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/Publications/RWIS_brochure.pdf.

11. FHWA, “Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System Program Fact Sheet,” Turner-
Fairbank Highway Research Center, FHWA-RD-02-072, January 2003,
www.tfhrc.gov/its/ndgps/02072.htm.

12. Goodwin, L., “Best Practices for Road Weather Management,” Version 2.0, May 2003,
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/best_practices/CaseStudiesFINALv2-RPT.pdf.
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Weather Information for Roadway Transportation Preliminary Data Gap Analysis

13. Gutman, S. and Benjamin, S., “The Role of Ground-Based GPS Meteorological Observations
in Numerical Weather Prediction,” NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory, 2001, www-
frd.fsl.noaa.gov/pub/papers/Gutman2001a/p.pdf.

14. Klein, R. and Pielke, Jr., R., “Bad Weather? Then Sue the Weatherman!: Legal Liability for
Public Sector Forecasts,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 83 Issue.
12, December 2002, http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/homepages/roger_pielke/hp_roger/
pdf/2002.21.pdf and http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/homepages/roger_pielke/hp_roger/
pdf/2002.22.pdf.

15. Mitretek Systems, “Surface Transportation Weather Decision Support Requirements

(STWDSR) reports,”
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/best_practices/1024x768/transform_param2.asp?
xslname=pub.xsl&xmlname=publications.xml&keyname=164.

16. National Research Council, “Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for
Improving Road Weather Services,” Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate,
Transportation Research Board, prepublication version, January 2004,
www.nap.edu/books/0309091365/html/.

17. NASA, “Remote Sensing Tutorial Web Site,” Goddard Space Flight Center, March 2003,
http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov.

18. NOAA, “Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS) web site,” October 2003,
www-sdd.fsl.noaa.gov/MADIS/.

19. OFCM, “The Committee for Integrated Observing Systems (CIOS),”

www.ofcm.gov/homepage/text/new_orgzn/text/cios.htm.

20. OFCM, “Weather Information for Surface Transportation: National Needs Assessment
Report,” www.ofcm.gov/wist_report/wist-report.htm, December 2002.

21. Pisano, P. and Goodwin, L., “Research Needs for Weather-Responsive Traffic Management,”
presented at the 2004 TRB Annual Meeting, December 2003,
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/best_practices/WxRspTfcMgmtTRB2004.pdf

22. U.S. DOT, “Environmental Monitoring Application Area,” ITS Standards web site, www.its-
standards.net/AA-Environmental%20Monitoring.htm.

23. U.S. DOT, “FHWA Working to Improve Weather Forecasting Using NDGPS,” Research &
Technology Transporter, p. 4, October 2001, www.tfhrc.gov/trnsptr/oct01/oct01.pdf.

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