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Where the Weather Meets the Road A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services (2004) / Chapter Skim
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2 The Road Weather System of the Future
Pages 25-32

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From page 25...
... Numerical modeling has become more sophisticated and capable of resolving important phenomena on small space scales and short time scales. Transportation personnel have implemented dynamic message signs and have begun to take advantage of cellular technology to communicate with drivers while en route.
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From page 26...
... On her way to pick up her children from band practice Karen notes the dark clouds of a thunderstorm rapidly approaching. Meanwhile, computers at a private meteorological service are using data from the National Weather Service and the Kansas Department of Trans portation to produce a highly specific "pathcast" for the storm, indicating which areas are expected to be affected.
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From page 27...
... MODEL-BASED TOOLS TO SUPPORT DECISIONS The road weather system of the future will employ sophisticated models to support enhanced decision making by the driving public, as in the case of Lou, and by those who build, maintain, and operate the nation's roads. The models will be "end-to-end," meaning they will integrate real-time observations of current weather, traffic, and road conditions; numerical weather predictions; models of traffic flow given these observed conditions; and rules of practice, to better serve a diverse customer base with decision
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From page 28...
... These models will be used by roadway maintenance officials, operational trans portation managers, emergency managers, and those who build roads, and even incorporated into automated systems that provide alternate routes to drivers on the road. High-quality weather forecasts that provide information of the greatest accuracy possible at the necessary scale for the roadway environment are necessary to ensure the value of these modeling tools.
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From page 29...
... He uses his personal information management system to access a suite of decision support tools, including highly localized weather forecasts, a sophisticated road temperature model, and an application that helps him choose treatment options. Curt is most concerned about two mountain passes that typically ice up first due to their higher elevation.
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From page 30...
... ENHANCED ROADWAY MAINTENANCE Efforts to remove snow and ice from the roadways in the past have combined regional scale coarse weather information, various rules of prac tice, lessons learned from experience, and a significant degree of guess work. The road weather system of the future will be able to provide highly targeted weather information and decision support models that codify the best of past practices and use cost-benefit analyses to help maintenance officials make more informed decisions.
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From page 31...
... A hurricane that developed north of the Lesser Antilles five days ago has intensified to a strong Category 1 with maximum sustained winds of 95 mph, and it is heading west northwest toward Miami. Following the weather report an emer gency management official again explains that evacuation is volun tary and that routes I-95 and I-4 have been designated as evacuation routes on which all traffic will be directed away from the storm.
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From page 32...
... Likewise, in 2020 responses to weather-related emergencies and evacu ations due to weather hazards will take full advantage of advances in me teorology and traffic management through integrated decision support sys tems. This will be a significant improvement over the current "swivel-chair integration" approach, in which emergency managers consult separate in formation sources for weather, traffic, and emergency response practices.
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Key Terms

  • weather information
  • decision support
  • evacuation routes
  • roadway maintenance
  • emergency management

  • smart vehicles
  • mountain pass
  • integrated decision
  • road conditions
  • road maintenance

  • weather forecasts
  • road surface
  • curt quickly
  • current weather
  • emergency managers

  • dynamic message
  • roadway environment
  • road closures
  • enhanced roadway
  • weather report

  • message signs
  • chemical treatment
  • sarno family
  • maintenance officials
  • road temperature

  • significant degree
  • emergency response
  • robust observation
  • modeling tools
  • numerical weather


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