Weather Information, Surface Transportation

The Weather Team is coordinating federal ITS requirements and programs for weather information that serves surface transportation decision makers. This White Paper has made use of valuable contributions by a number of people in the transportation and meteorological communities. This White Paper analyzes needs for, and issues concerning, federal coordination of activities that will contribute to better weather-related transportation system outcomes by providing better decision support to transportation operators and users. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Weather Team was formed in 1997 under the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) program of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). The team currently has FHWA members and a state DOT representative, but considers weather information needs of all surface transportation modes. The team is coordinating with the National Weather Service (NWS) of the Department of Commerce as the primary provider of weather information. The team intends to include all USDOT surface modal administrations and will coordinate with the well-established weather interests of the aviation and maritime administrations. This White Paper focuses on the needs of surface transportation decisions for better support by weather information, integrated with other information in the ITS. Findings are included from a special team workshop and feedback from conference presentations, representing wide participation by transportation and meteorological experts, in the public and private sectors. The goals of the ITS program and of the FHWA National Strategic Plan are to be met by a conceptual Weather Information for Surface Transportation (WIST) System that will be part of the ITS for use by surface transportation operators and travelers. The FHWA role is to promote deployment of the WIST System by local transportation agencies with private partners, through the framework of the National ITS Architecture. Research projects and operational tests are planned, and one test is already underway, under the rural ITS program budget. The team hopes to focus a variety of USDOT and other funding sources through a surface transportation weather plan. The goal of the WIST System is to achieve better outcomes in the surface transportation system, and weather information is a resource to decision making that can achieve this goal. Weather itself is a natural constraint on transportation, but weather information as part of better decision support can improve treatment of weather effects on surface transportation facilities, allow travelers to cope better with conditions, and expedite responses to weather-induced problems. The market for improved decision support using weather information is …