Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology OFCM Opening Remarks and WG/WIST Activities Update Paul Pisano Mike Campbell WG/WIST Cochairs June 6,

Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology OFCM

Opening Remarks and WG/WIST Activities Update

Paul Pisano

Mike Campbell

WG/WIST Cochairs

June 6, 7, 13, and 14, 2006

Working Group Cochair Briefing for WIST Workshops


Overview

• WG/WIST Background

• WG/WIST Vision and Goals

• Activities Update

• Workshop Objectives

• Participant’s Role

• Workshop Overview

• Summary


WG/WIST Background

• May 2004: ICMSSR charter/tasking for the WG/WIST– Actions:

• OFCM establish a Working Group for WIST (WG/WIST), led by FHWA and NOAA, to allow all Federal departments and agencies to participate in the development of plans or projects to meet their WIST needs and ensure Federal resources are used efficiently

• WG/WIST develop a multiyear, Federal WIST research program plan to bring together the Federal weather and surface transportation research communities and provide a vision for the public and private sectors to use for planning purposes

• WG/WIST develop an overarching, Federal, multiagency-coordinated WIST implementation program

Charter for the Working Group


WG/WIST Vision and Goals

• Vision: Safe and efficient movement of people and goods on the surface transportation system, whatever the weather.

• Goals:• Timely, accurate, relevant, and accessible information on weather

and resulting surface conditions, both observed and predicted, that will support decisions to:

– Reduce weather-related surface transportation deaths, injuries, and property damage

– Improve management of weather-related delays and operating costs– Mitigate adverse impacts of surface transportation operations on the

environment.

• Facilitate development and delivery of training and outreach materials to build the capacity of surface transportation constituents.

Vision and Goals for the R&D Plan


WG/WIST Activities Update

• Collecting already available R&D needs references:– U.S. Weather Research Program: National Need, Vision, &

Interagency Plan for FY 2000-2006 – Weather Information for Surface Transportation - National

Needs Assessment Report, NOAA/OFCM, December 2002– The AMS Policy Forum focused on “Weather and

Highways” in November 2003. – National Academy of Sciences’ (NAS) Board on

Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) and Transportation Research Board (TRB) report, Where the Weather Meets the Road--A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services, January 16, 2004.

– Draft NOAA-FHWA Partnering Plan, last revised on July 1, 2004.

Preparation for drafting the R&D Plan



• Collecting already available R&D needs references:– Weather Issues in Transportation Report on Research Focus

Groups and Recommendations for Future Action September 2004, Prepared by Iowa Department of Transportation and Center for Transportation Research and Education.

– Intelligent Transportation Society of America, Weather Information & Applications Special Interest Group (WIA-SIG), Transportation Weather Research and Development Needs to Support ITS, Version 0.0, Date: 18 September 2005. Prepared by: National Center for Atmospheric Research

– COST 309 Road Weather Conditions - COST is an intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research




• Developing a frame of reference for prioritized R&D needs:


Cross-cutting Events

Data Management

Performance Measures and Weather-Related Crash Reporting

Education, Outreach, and Awareness

Decision Support Systems

Weather Information Dissemination

Modeling, Forecasts, Warnings, Advisories, and Verification

Observations

Airport Ground Operations – all ground movement of vehicles, work crews, and passengers

Marine Transportation System – coastal and inland waterways, ports and harbors, and the intermodal terminals serving them

Rural and Urban Transit – bus and van service on streets and roadways, rail lines for metropolitan subway and surface “light rail” systems

Pipeline Systems – Above and below ground pipelines for commodities such as crude oil, refined petroleum products, and natural gas, plus storage, transfer, and pumping facilities for pipelines

Long-Haul Railway – rail lines providing intercity freight and passenger service, with their yard stations, and depots

Roadway -state and local highways, roads, streets, and intermodal freight yards



• Collecting weather-related impact data to help prioritize WIST R&D needs (railway example):


Relative Weather Impacts on WIST Working Group Goals for Railway

(Based on data provided by FRA and Volpe Center) Fatalities Injuries Delay Costs Liquid Precipitation

3 1 2

Frozen Precipitation

4 3 4

Wind Velocity 2 3

Temperature Extremes

1 1 1 1

Fog 2 2

Slides (snow, mud, rock)

5 2

Frozen load 3

Lightning 3

Other 2 2 3

Rank of 1 indicates greatest impact


Workshop Objectives

• A first chance for members of the WG/WIST, together with representatives of the surface transportation weather research and user communities to:

– Help determine the priorities for the surface transportation weather information R&D needed

– Gather and crossfeed information concerning ongoing or planned surface transportation weather-related R&D

Information Sharing


Participant’s Role

• We want to hear your ideas and welcome them

– The broad requirements for the provision of weather information to meet surface transportation needs fall on the weather information provider community as a whole, both public and private

– The specificity and detail of information needed for individual users speak to important and expanding roles for private sector providers

Helping Shape an Inclusive Plan


Participant’s Role

– The federal agency partners can provide basic weather and environmental observations and forecasts, encourage the transfer of research results into operations, and support the fundamental research and technology innovation needed to advance the state of the art

– Success in meeting WIST R&D needs will entail cooperative efforts and working partnerships among federal agencies; among federal, state, and “private-public” entities; and between the governmental and commercial sectors

Helping Shape an Inclusive Plan


Workshop Overview

• Surface Transportation Weather-Related Impact/Priority Data

• Ongoing WIST R&D Activities Overview

• WIST R&D and/or Needs Presentations

• Open Discussion Period

Main points on the agenda


Summary

• WG/WIST has a vision and goals to guide development of a WIST R&D Plan

• The WG/WIST needs your:

– Ideas

– Feedback

– Cooperation

• Both today and during the rest of the plan drafting process

WG/WIST Needs Your Help

Documents

Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology OFCM Opening Remarks and WG/WIST Activities Update Paul Pisano Mike Campbell WG/WIST Cochairs June 6,