Road Weather Management Program
photos of lightning, trucks plowing snow, an empty road before a storm, and an evacuation
Office of Operations 21st century operations using 21st century technologies

Welcome to Road Weather Management

What's New

New Interactive Web-based Course on Road Weather Management - Consortium for ITS Training and Education and FHWA Introduce New Blended Course: Principles and Tools of Road Weather Management. The course begins on March 14th and continues through April 27th, 2008. Read More

MDSS Product Demonstration Showcase - FHWA has been working with several public transportation agencies and private sector vendors to conduct Regional MDSS Product Demonstration Showcases. The primary goal of the Showcase is to encourage and hasten implementation of field-proven technologies and processes, such as MDSS. The first Showcase will be hosted by Nebraska Department of Roads in Omaha, Nebraska on May 28, 2008. Read more information about the showcase.

MDSS Prototype Release 5.0 - Release 5.0 of MDSS prototype software, which contains many new or improved features. Registration for the software and supporting documentation is free.

Now Available: Version 2.0 of Road Weather Resource Identification (RWRI) Tool - This improved and expanded version contains more than 650 resources. Download the RWRI Tool.

Adverse weather conditions have a major impact on the safety and operation of our Nation's roads, from signalized arterials to Interstate highways. Weather affects driver behavior, vehicle performance, pavement friction, and roadway infrastructure. Weather events and their impacts on roads can be viewed as predictable, non-recurring incidents that affect safety, mobility and productivity. Weather affects roadway safety through increased crash risk, as well as exposure to weather-related hazards. Weather impacts roadway mobility by increasing travel time delay, reducing traffic volumes and speeds, increasing speed variance (i.e., a measure of speed uniformity), and decreasing roadway capacity (i.e., maximum rate at which vehicles can travel). Weather events influence productivity by disrupting access to road networks, and increasing road operating and maintenance costs.

Clarus Initiative

The Clarus Initiative is a joint effort of the United States Department of Transportation Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office and the FHWA Road Weather Management Program. The Clarus Initiative is a six-year effort to develop and demonstrate an integrated surface transportation weather observation data management system, and to establish a partnership to create a Nationwide Surface Transportation Weather Observing and Forecasting System.

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