Surface Transportation Weather

​Weather impacts our surface transportation system more than any other variable. Ice, snow, high winds, and flooding all can cause serious delays or even damage to our surface transportation system. We can’t stop or change weather, but we can monitor conditions and take appropriate action.

We can’t stop or change weather, but we can monitor conditions and take appropriate action.

    Winter Road Conditions
     

     Winter Road Conditions

    		 

    In most developed countries more people are killed in winter traffic crashes than any other weather related disaster. Monitoring the current conditions on roadways nearby and remote motorways is critical to performing winter maintenance operations. Ministries of transportations, departments of transportation, cities, counties, and townships all have a need to monitor road weather conditions. Road weather stations or RWIS monitor winter conditions such as:

    • Ice or snow formation
    • Frost on bridges
    • Black ice or refreezing of moisture
    • Depth of water or snow
    • Friction or grip
    • Chemical concentration
    • Freeze point of solution on the surface

    The fixed weather stations are usually located in areas identified as problem spots or cold regions through thermal mapping. Stations are also usually placed in locations of unusual weather or remote from other forms of communication. Since bridges and other elevated roadways typically freeze before road surfaces, sites are typically located near a bridge so both a road and bridge reading can be done at the same time.

    Vaisala offers a suite of fixed road weather stations and sensors to monitor winter road conditions. Reliable and accurate information is key, and the Vaisala road weather products provide solutions that meet your needs.
    Low Visibility

    Low Visibility Detection and Monitoring

    Winter weather is not the only thing that can impact surface transportation. For vehicles another major concern is low visibility caused by fog, blowing snow and sand. The biggest problem with visibility issues is that they are typically very localized, which means drivers approach areas quickly and with little warning. The good news is that areas of poor visibility are typically areas of repeat offenses, meaning transportation officials know the areas where visibility problems occur.

    Vaisala RWIS offers a variety of visibility sensors to detect low visibility (no matter what the cause). This data can simply go back to the road authority for decision making or the decisions can be made automatically by Vaisala decision systems, and warnings can be relayed directly to the travelers through HARs, VMS signs, or flashing beacons.

    Flooding
     

     Flooding

    		 

    When most people think of RWIS they think of winter weather, but to get the most out of an RWIS network a year round approach should be considered. One condition to consider is high water or flooding. New or existing RWIS sites can be placed in areas prone to water over the roadway during times of heavy rain. Sensors on the RWIS can be installed to monitor water height, and can activate signs or send electronic alerts when conditions warrant.
    High Wind
     

     High Wind

    		 

    High winds can cause numerous problems for surface transportation. Blowing sand and snow can make visibility very low at the driving level. Winter maintenance crews can take special measures in many cases to lessen the effects of blowing snow.

    High winds can cause a danger to the vehicles themselves, especially high profile vehicles, such as trucks and vans. Vaisala RWIS stations can provide precise wind speed and direction measurements crucial to making important decisions. Like other weather variables, wind intensities can change quickly over a short distance, or in areas favorable to high winds, so local measurements are key to success.

    Of course the operation does not need to stop there. Vaisala can design and deploy systems that automatically warn drivers and authorities of high winds, making sure the right action is taken quickly.
    Mobile Weather
     

     Mobile Weather

    		 

    Collecting weather data as we drive is not new. Many vehicles today display the air temperature outside as we drive; however, for transportation authorities this is not enough. Snow plows and gritters can be equipped with air temperature, pavement temperature, and moisture sensors, to provide much more information about the road weather as they move and conduct operations.

    For the most part this data was only available to the driver themselves or maybe the vehicle was equipped with some sort of data recorder for analyzing the data upon their return. Now with the ever increasing coverage and reduced cost of communications, agencies can transmit the data along with the vehicles coordinates, so that decision makers have an even better understanding of the surface weather. Ministry or government vehicles of all types can be equipped with sensors and communications systems, allowing for a huge network of mobile data filling in the gaps for the fixed road weather stations.

    Vaisala offers several mobile sensors specifically designed for mobile applications. The Vaisala sensors allow for in-vehicle display or connection to a mobile vehicle communication network.
    Decision Support
     

     Decision Support

    		 

    For most of the past 30 to 40 years road weather solutions have been primarily focused on providing information for people to make decisions. For the last few years there has been a growing trend for the systems to make, or at least recommend, the solution for the decision makers. This is in part because of reduction of resources and improvement in technology.

    Maintenance Decision Support Systems or MDSS, is a system of current data, forecast data, and information about the agency’s operations to provide recommended solutions to the user. The MDSS updates in real time, so as information or forecasts change so does the recommended solution.

    Vaisala’s MDSS solution is built on research and efforts of transportation experts around the world to assemble a system that can provide decisions to improve your costs and efficiencies.
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