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Collaboration Across the Road Weather Enterprise: The Pathfinder ProjectCHAPTER 6. GUIDANCE FOR PATHFINDER PROJECT STANDUPLINKS TO FEDERAL INITIATIVESThe expansion of the collaborative model nationwide has been supported by initiatives at federal headquarters for both the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the National Weather Service (NWS), such as:
The SHRP2 CMM provides transportation agencies with a tool to improve transportation system management. It was refined for several sub-topics, including road weather management (RWM). The model classifies the mature program as one that operates with a high degree of collaboration with the weather community before an event and proactively messages the public. Recommended tasks for maturing in the area of collaboration with the weather enterprise include:
The establishment of the collaborative relationship is optimized when there is a dedicated weather position within the DOT, when joint meetings are made routine prior to hazardous weather events, and when NWS, private sector and academic resources are integrated into DOT operational procedures. These are the traits of a mature Road Weather Management Program (RWMP). PARTNERS' RESPONSIBILITIES THROUGHOUT WEATHER EVENTSThere are numerous facets to State DOTs, the weather forecasting offices (WFOs) and, when present, DOT-contracted weather service providers. This section provides an overview of the responsibilities of each partner as they relate to operating procedures during hazardous weather events. The following section refines the responsibilities to interaction and relationship-building among the partners.
Figure 9. Photo. Traffic Operations Center.
STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONState DOT traffic management and maintenance operations function in real time. A few of their typical operational responsibilities (both general and storm-specific) are listed in Table 1. Due to the intrinsic nature of weather in DOT resource allocation, planning divisions have weather- related responsibilities as well. The financial needs of DOT operations change from year to year with changes in the weather, updates to operational methodologies, and the availability of technological advances. Therefore, planning divisions should remain intimately aware of the weather and climate that dictate the actions and changing nature of the DOT's operational divisions.
Compose Word documents and convert to HTML easily online for free. Please leave this message unchanged or subscribe now for a htmlg membership. WEATHER ENTERPRISE"Weather Enterprise" is a term which encompasses all weather service-providing organizations within the public and private sector (including news media), each catering their forecasts and data products to their customers' needs. For the purpose of DOT-Weather Enterprise interaction, the broad field of providers is focused into two participating entities: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) NWS and private road weather service providers. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICEThe NWS is a division of NOAA within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Its nationwide offices include:
The official mission of the NWS is to "provide weather, water, and climate data, forecasts and warnings for the protection of life and property." Its stated vision is: "A Weather-Ready Nation," in which "society is prepared for and responds to weather-dependent events." To this end, the NWS has catered its forecast products to the general public and to emergency managers alike to mitigate impacts from daily weather to high-impact events. The NWS has worked to build and maintain relationships with government agencies to better understand their weather information needs. Table 2 lists a few of their typical operational responsibilities (both general and storm- specific). Prior to a weather event, NWS forecasters assign a watch, warning or advisory designation to the event. The criteria are based on the severity of the event, as designated by numerical forecast values (e.g., snow amount, wind speed, etc.). However, recent efforts have sought to alter the thresholds for these products to expected impact, instead of numerical forecast values. For example, a winter storm is forecast to accumulate two inches of snow, which would place the event in advisory criteria. However, the precipitation is expected to occur quickly, beginning at 5 p.m. and local road temperatures have been hovering just above freezing. Snow is expected to first melt on the road surface, but quickly freeze as road temperatures drop, creating a slick layer of ice and snow. At 5 p.m., traffic volume will be high. The combined effects from the weather, road temperature and traffic would create a higher impact event than would be expected from the forecast alone. A WFO may re-assign the event to warning level for its expected transportation impact. The text contained in the forecast product would provide decision support by explaining the impact and including "call-to-action statements."
Clean CSS files are essential for an optimized website. Free online tool by HTML Cleaner. THE PRIVATE SECTORThe meteorological private sector includes a range of companies that provide weather forecasts, observation-based technologies and Decision Support Systems (DSS), and/or data services to various clientele. They may be independent, associated with a media group, or contract with other companies and agencies. The forecasters are especially trained in transportation-specific weather, and their products focus on weather interaction with the road surface and with traffic mobility. Table 3 lists a few typical operational responsibilities (both general and storm-specific) for private sector entities. There are several private weather firms serving State DOTs nationwide. Almost all of the firms provide internal operational forecasts and decision support, but the DOT may request other services, such as modeling and software development, weather instrumentation, research, data management, personnel training, collaboration with other agencies, decision support (e.g., winter maintenance treatment recommendations), and producing TI weather conditions and forecasts. During weather events, the company will usually be asked to: conduct briefings with maintenance, traffic operations, emergency managers, and others; interpret and disseminate weather observations, interact with other divisions and agencies; answer questions from DOT personnel; provide weather alerts; and so on, as requested. Each DOT has a different working arrangement with their contractor, though there are a few DOTs that have no contracted weather support. Forecasters may be located within a Traffic Management Center (TMC), elsewhere in-state or elsewhere out-of-state. Various configurations of these arrangements will dictate the manner of collaboration between the DOT, its contractors and the NWS.
EMERGENCY MANAGERSEmergency management encompasses all actions to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a disaster or emergency. Sometimes you will hear about emergency preparedness or emergency response. Each State dictates when emergency management is initiated based on a set of thresholds (e.g., closure, NWS warning). After an analysis of the current and/or forecasted weather and there is an indication that thresholds will be met, the emergency management team should be included in the collaborated messages to the public. With this inclusion, all messages will be consistent and the proper information will be conveyed. EMERGENCY RESPONDERSEmergency responders depend on roadways to provide crucial services to individuals and communities. People who are in danger or are physically hurt rely on emergency responders to come to their rescue without being affected by the weather condition. Communication flows with emergency responders is needed at the start to insure they can effectively continue to operate without the repercussions of hazardous weather conditions. Furthermore, the very nature of hazardous weather conditions will likely increase the need for emergency responders making their inclusion even more imperative to include them when establishing collaborative relationships. ACADEMIAIt is important to remember that academia is also an important partner to State DOT weather-related operations. Although academia's role of forecasting is rarely operational in nature, the State DOT can work with local universities or transportation institutes to conduct research or build tools to assist operations. A State DOT can also leverage the data management resources of universities to quality control and archive its road weather information systems (RWIS) data. In these ways, academia serves as an important segment of the weather enterprise.
As mentioned in the previous section, every State DOT has a different operational configuration with their private sector contractor, and some DOTs do not have one. The operational configuration of the partners will affect how collaborative communication takes place. The following five configuration cases were identified nationwide:
For Cases 1, 2 and 3, there is no DOT-employed meteorologist on staff. In Case 4, the DOT has an employed meteorologist. Cases 1, 2, 4a and 4b show that the physical location of the private sector meteorologists may be inside or outside of the TMC. The physical location of all partners during events will affect communication between them. For Cases 1, 2 and 3, there is no DOT-employed meteorologist on staff. In Case 4, the DOT has an employed meteorologist. Cases 1, 2, 4a and 4b show that the physical location of the private sector meteorologists may be inside or outside of the TMC. The physical location of all partners during events will affect communication between them.
The participating State DOT should be aware of the configuration of their public and private partners, as well as any tools that would ease communication between each. This guidance will not suggest specific ways of communicating among each of these five configuration cases. Successful collaborative partnerships arise from building relationships between all participants within the State DOT and weather enterprise. Relationships should be fostered through successive and varied joint activities throughout the year. It is important that many modes of interaction become part of standard operating procedures. Interaction methodologies should be clearly outlined and practiced regularly. While partner interaction may become a requirement in operational policy, authentic trust, open dialogue and true collaboration are built over time and by working toward a common goal. Each partner must be willing not only to give information, but also to listen and to consider the viewpoint from the other agency. Ultimately, the purpose of the collaboration is to provide the traveling public with consistent road weather impact information so they can make better decisions, and this goal must be kept central to the effort. In many ways, this effort is about changing operational culture at the State DOT, in the private sector, and at the NWS. Naturally, there will be disagreements with weather forecasts, specific timing, etc., but there will also be commonalities. It is imperative to the collaborative effort to look past potential disagreements and identify the commonalities in each entity's tools, resources, and expertise. Open communication will aid in developing road impact agreements. Throughout the Pathfinder project, meteorologists on both sides needed to be reminded each time that the ultimate goal of the collaboration goes beyond having the "best" weather forecast, to having a shared impact message so the public can take appropriate action. At the same time, State DOT management must realize that putting forth the effort to collaborate pays off on the transportation system and the efficiency of their operations.
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United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration |
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