An Analysis of the Communication of Winter Road Hazards between the NWS and Its Transportation Partners
Journal Article
Overview
abstract
Abstract; Past research indicates that drivers who utilize government sources, such as the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Department of Transportation (DOT), to inform their travel decisions during inclement weather are more likely to change their travel behavior. Therefore, collaboration and communication between the NWS and its stakeholders are vitally important to ensure consistency with road hazard messages. This study aims to obtain insight into the relationships between Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) and their transportation partners with regard to how road hazard information is passed between these entities. An NWS-wide survey was conducted during winter 2023/24, which collected both qualitative and quantitative data. Analysis of survey data reveals that forecasters are in consensus over who they collaborate with, the communication channels used, the information they provide, and the importance and benefit of utilizing probabilistic guidance within road hazard messages to convey uncertainty. However, participant responses vary regarding strongly worded messages that imply road weather impacts, which suggests differing interpretations of the NWS directives. The level of collaboration WFOs have with DOTs is not consistent between respondents and appears to rely on the needs of the DOT office and their participation within the Pathfinder initiative. Additionally, forecasters appear to prefer probabilistic tools but anticipate interpretation difficulty and misunderstandings of probabilistic guidance by end users. Along with highlighting the current collaborative efforts between the NWS and its end users, the findings from this research will be utilized to inform future iterations of testbed evaluations to mitigate challenges during the development and testing of decision-support tools.; ; Significance Statement; Within this study, we evaluate the current collaboration efforts between National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) and their transportation partners in the context of road weather hazard information dissemination. Analysis of survey data from WFO forecasters indicates variations within road hazard message content they distribute and information (e.g., road conditions, road closures) they can repost from their stakeholders to the public. Relationships between the NWS and Departments of Transportation (DOTs) appear to depend on office participation within the Pathfinder initiative and the level of involvement requested by the DOT. Forecasters also differ in what tools they utilize when forecasting road weather hazards but have a slight preference for probabilistic products. However, participants indicate they anticipate end-user interpretation difficulties or misunderstandings with probabilistic guidance.;
