U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations
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| This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information |
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Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-04-109
Date: September 2004 |
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This report documents the results of five research projects to improve the sensing, predictions and use of weather-related road conditions in road maintenance and operations.
The primary purpose for these projects was to evaluate the use of weather observations and modeling systems to improve highway safety and to support effective decisions made by the various jurisdictions that manage the highway system. In particular, the research evaluated how environmental sensor station data, particularly Road Weather Information System (RWIS) data, could best be used for both road condition forecasting and weather forecasting. The collaborative efforts also included building better relations for training and sharing information between the meteorological and transportation agencies.
These projects are unique because they each involved collaborated partnerships between National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs), State departments of transportation (DOTs), and universities. Lessons learned from these projects can help all State DOTs improve how they manage RWIS networks and achieve maximum utility from RWIS investments. Sufficient copies are being distributed to provide one copy to each Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Resource Center, two copies to each FHWA Division, and one copy to each State highway agency. Direct distribution is being made to the FHWA Divisions Offices. Additional copies may be purchased from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161.
Toni Wilbur
Director, Office of Operations
Research and Development
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document.
The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufactures. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.
| 1. Report No. FHWA-HRT-04-109 | 2. Government Accession No. | 3. Recipient's Catalog No. | ||||||||||
| 4. Title and Subtitle Collaborative Research on Road Weather Observations and Predictions by Universities, State DOTs and National Weather Service Forecast Offices |
5. Report Date September 2004 |
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| 6. Performing Organization Code | ||||||||||||
| 7. Author(s) Dr. Victoria Johnson, Dr. Darko Koracin, William Gallus, David R. Fitzjarrald, Paul Knight, and John Horel |
8. Performing Organization Report No. | |||||||||||
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9. Performing Organization Name and Address
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10. Work Unit No. | |||||||||||
| 11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-00-Y-30095 |
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12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
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13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report 2001-2003 |
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| 14. Sponsoring Agency Code | ||||||||||||
| 15. Supplementary Notes This report is a part of a study for FHWA titled, "Collabortative research on road weather observation and predictions." FHWA Contracting Officer's Technical Representatives (COTRs) are Paul Pisano HOTO and Rudy Persaud HRDO. |
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| 16. Abstract The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Road Weather Management program partnered with the National Weather Service (NWS) to sponsor five research projects through the Cooperative Program for Operational Meterology, Education, and Training (COMET). The goal was to create teams of personel from State departments of transportation (DOT), NWS Weather Forecast Offices (WFO), and universities to foster collaborative and productive relationships between meterological and transportation agencies. These teams were to use data from Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) to improve the utilization of these data in both weather and transportation operations and to create new predictive algorithms for use in road maintenance activities. Such advances in road weather management ultimately will improve mobility on the roads, and DOT productively in operations. |
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| 17. Key Words Mesonet, Artificial Neural Network, IceCast pavement model, Integrated Weather Data Network, MesoWest meso-meterological network |
18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161. |
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| 19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified |
20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified |
21. No of Pages 70 |
22. Price | |||||||||
