NOAA: Promoting Safe and Efficient

Commerce and Transportation

January 2005Charlie Challstrom

Presentation Overview

• Surface Weather within NOAA

• Current Activities

• Future Activities & Opportunities

• Challenges

Surface Weather within NOAAWhy We’re Here

• NOAA is responsible for protecting life and property and promoting safe and efficient commerce and transportation

– Weather contributes to ~1,400,000 weather-related highway crashes and ~7,000 deaths per year

– 17% of all highway fatalities occur during adverse weather

– A 1% reduction in Intersection Crashes Saves 100 Lives and $1.24 Billion/year

Surface Weather within NOAAWhy We’re Here

• Goal:– Identify and implement

activities within NOAA’s mission to reduce the annual loss of life and productivity from surface transportation crashes and delays

Surface Weather within NOAA Why We’re Here

Vision:

• Safe, secure, efficient, and seamless movement of goods and people in the U.S. transportation system.

• Environmentally sound development and use of the U.S. transportation system

Surface Weather within NOAA Why We’re Here

NOAA Surface Weather Program • Established June 2004

Charter: • Provide the Nation with timely weather and

hazard information on a scale that supports improvements to safe and efficient transportation.

• Apply research and development to all surface transportation modes with highways as a priority and for prototype purposes.

Current ActivitiesObservations-Applications-Outreach

MDSS

Training

Clarus

NDFD

Current Activities Partnerships

• US Environmental Information Enterprise– Public-Private-Academic– Continuing to communicate and work with the

Commercial Sector• Interagency Partnerships

– FHWA: Clarus, Vehicle Infrastructure Integration

– OFCM WIST Working Group• Transportation Community

– NOAA membership in Intelligent Transportation Society of America

Future Activities Opportunities for Partnerships

• Integrated Surface Observing System

– Operational assimilation, ingest, and management system for external data

– Add more weather sensors to Geodetic Reference Stations

• Identify infrastructure vulnerability through Height Modernization

• Vehicles as mobile sensors

– Potential uses of Vehicle Infrastructure Integration data: temperature, precipitation, visibility

Future Activities Opportunities for Partnerships

• Getting Information to Travelers– E.g. Linking warnings and advisories to

highway Variable Message Signs via the Emergency Alert System

• Expanding Surface Transportation Weather Research– Public-Private-Academic Collaboration

• Promoting Best Practices– StormReady recognition, Training,

Education

Future Activities Trends

• Digital Services– Users can pull the information

they want when they need it– Easier to integrate with

information and display systems

• Next Generation of Models– Higher frequency and resolution– More ground level information

• Hardware Technology– Radar enhancements for spatial

resolution and type

Challenges

Technical• Integrating & assimilating

data from various networks

• Improving prediction of the surface layer of the atmosphere

• Turning mobile sensor data into meaningful information

Institutional• Public-Private-Academic

dynamics• Bringing the weather and

transportation communities together

• Privacy Issues (particularly mobile sensors)

Conclusion

• NOAA is responsible for protecting life and property and promoting safe and efficient commerce and transportation

• A partnership between weather and transportation communities can save lives and enhance the economy

• More information at: surfaceweather.noaa.gov