Road Weather Management Program
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Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

Best Practices > Publications > Publication Titles

Title:

The FHWA Clarus Initiative: Nationwide Surface Transportation Weather Observing and Forecasting System

Abstract:

Transportation managers use data from Environmental Sensor Stations (ESS) to support a wide range of operational decisions. In addition, transportation mangers and road users rely on a wide variety of tailored road weather information products (based on these sensor observations) to make safer and more efficient decisions. In mid 2004, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) began a five-year initiative called Clarus, the Nationwide Surface Transportation Weather Observing and Forecasting System, to improve operations and enhance these road weather information products by collecting all ESS data from State DOT observing networks. In near real-time, the Clarus system will integrate, quality-control, database and archive the nation's ESS data assets. The resulting information will be made available to a broad range of users through an Internet portal. The Clarus initiative will also contribute to technological advances, promoting new research, creating new business opportunities and facilitating inter-federal cooperation.

Source(s):

2005 ITS World Congress, FHWA Road Weather Management Program and Mitretek Systems

http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/resources/publications/fhwa/ite2005_clarus_final.doc

Date: 2005

Author:

Pisano, et al

Keywords:


Road Weather Information System (RWIS)
Weather information
Internet/web site

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