Road Weather Management Portal

Road Weather Management Program Overview

Road weather—atmospheric conditions like rain, snow, ice, high winds, fog, etc. that affect road surfaces—has a monumental impact on safety, mobility and economic productivity. Annually, there are more than 1 million crashes, 500,000 injuries and 3,000 fatalities occurring where adverse road weather conditions may be a contributing factor. Traffic delays from snow and ice events alone cost billions of dollars per year in lost economic productivity. Road weather management (RWM) strategies, applications, and outreach can be effective tools at mitigating and managing the impacts from adverse road weather conditions.

The Road Weather Management Program (RWMP), within the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Operations, seeks to better understand the impacts of weather on roadways, and promote strategies and tools to mitigate those impacts. The mission of the program is to improve highway road weather operations to enhance mobility and safety.

For more information regarding the Road Weather Management Program, visit our website at https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/ or reach out to us at WeatherFeedback@dot.gov or through our contact information at the end of this site.

RWMP Current Research and Development

RWMP aims to advance technology through targeted, coordinated road weather research and development. Priorities for RWMP involve advancing an operations culture that supports performance measurement to assess appreciable gains in safety, mobility, and constructability, and offering tools, research, guidance, and hands-on assistance that is readily accessible yet can be customized to each agency’s specific needs.

Planned Special Events:

• FHWA’s planning for the 2024 solar eclipse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-lMF-Rdaws
• Planned Special Events: Capability Maturity Framework Tool: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/tsmoframeworktool/available_frameworks/planned_events.htm
• Managing Travel for Planned Special Events: Final Report: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwaop04010/handbook.pdf
• Traffic Management for Planned Special Events: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/tim/about/pse.htm
• Intelligent Transportation Systems for Planned Special Events: A Cross-Cutting Study: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/3255
• Planned Special Events:
  • For more information: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/tim/about/pse.htm

Integrated Modeling for Road Condition Prediction:

• IMRCP documentation and code: https://github.com/OSADP/IMRCP
• IMRCP publications: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/resources/publications.htm

Pathfinder: An EDC-4 Innovation (Road Weather Management – Weather Savvy Roads)

• Collaboration Across the Road Weather Enterprise: The Pathfinder Project: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop16086/fhwahop16086.pdf
• Weather-Savvy Roads: 
  • Colorado’s Pathfinder Process: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop18028/fhwahop18028.pdf
  • Truckee, California: Adopting Pathfinder Principles: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop18074/fhwahop18074.pdf
  • Wyoming Department of Transportation Total Solar Eclipse: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop18033/fhwahop18033.pdf
• What is Pathfinder? https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop18034/fhwahop18034.pdf
• Pathfinder: Arizona’s Coordinated Messaging on Snowstorm Impacts: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop22054/fhwahop22054.pdf
• Pathfinder: Implementation Recommendations: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop18059/fhwahop18059.pdf
• Pathfinder: Road Weather Management Program:
  • Project activities: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/resources/publications.htm
• Preparing for a Solar Eclipse: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop22072/fhwahop22072.pdf

Weather Data Environment:

• Weather Data Environment (WxDE): Road Weather Management Program:
  • Getting Data into the Weather Data Environment: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop18029/fhwahop18029.pdf
  • Project activities: https://wxde.fhwa.dot.gov and for more info: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather

Every Day Counts:

• Every Day Counts Round 4 (EDC-4) Integrating Mobile Observations (IMO): 
  Road Weather Management Program:
  • Project activities:
    • Resources: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/resources/publications.htm
    • Mobile observations from IMO activities: https://wxde.fhwa.dot.gov
• Every Day Counts Round 5 (EDC-5) Weather-Responsive Management Strategies: Road Weather Management Program:
  • Resources: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/resources/publications.htm
  • The EDC-5 final report: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/everydaycounts/reports/edc5_finalreport.pdf
• Every Day Counts Round 6 (EDC-6) Crowdsourcing for Advancing Operations:
  • Project activities:
    • Web page: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/crowdsourcing
    • For more information: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/everydaycounts/edc_6/crowdsourcing.cfm

Adaptive Route Optimization:

• Adaptive Route Optimization (ARO): Road Weather Management Program:
  • Adaptive Route Optimization – Concept of Operations Report: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop24055/fhwahop24055.pdf and flyer: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop22055/fhwahop22055.pdf
  • Adaptive Route Optimization – Systems Requirements: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop22029/fhwahop22029.pdf and flyer: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop22063/fhwahop22063.pdf
  • Adaptive Route Optimization for Operations – Feasibility and Readiness Report: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop24043/fhwahop24043.pdf
  • Project activities: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/resources/publications.htm

The following links provide additional information.

Federal:

• National Academy of Sciences, Transportation Research Board (TRB)
• National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)
• Standing Committee on Extreme Weather and Climate Change Adaptation
• Transportation Research Board Committee on Road Weather (AKR50)
• TRID
• Standing Committee Winter Maintenance Committee

State:

• Aurora Program
• Clear Roads 

International:

• PIARC
• Standing International Road Weather Commission (SIRWEC)

Academia:

• Montana State University, Western Transportation Institute
• National Center for Atmospheric Research | University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

FHWA and Road Weather Management - Every Day Counts (EDC) Initiatives

The Every Day Counts (EDC) Program is a State-based model that identifies and rapidly deploys proven innovations that make our transportation system adaptable, sustainable, equitable and safer for all. FHWA works with State transportation departments, local governments, tribes, private industry and other stakeholders to identify a new collection of innovations to champion every two years that merit accelerated deployment. These innovations save time, money and resources to ensure our infrastructure is built better, faster, and smarter.

• Pathfinder: Pathfinder is a Weather-Savvy Roads process that enables transportation agencies, the National Weather Service, and private weather service providers to collaborate on clear, consistent, and impact-based road weather messaging for the public. It provides the foundation for coordination across agencies to develop cohesive weather impact information, helping drivers make informed travel decisions. View this factsheet and the Pathfinder Project guidance document for more information. An example of this process in action was the Total Solar Eclipse that spanned the United States from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024.
• Integrated Mobile Operations (IMO): IMO is a cost-effective way to gather information on weather and road conditions with road weather sensors and cameras deployed on existing fleet vehicles that can then be integrated into decision support systems. Vehicle-based technologies provide agencies with data to manage transportation systems before, during, and after the impacts of adverse weather occur. View our EDC-4 Weather-Savvy Roads publications here for more information on IMO.
• Weather-Responsive Management Strategies (WRMS): 
  • The WRMS initiative under the EDC-5 program promotes the use of road weather data from mobile and connected vehicle technologies to support traffic and maintenance management strategies during inclement weather. The goal is to improve safety and reliability, as well as to reduce environmental impacts on the transportation system resulting from adverse weather.
  • EDC-5 WRMS Resource Toolkit:
    https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/RWMX/SiteAssets/WRMS/home.aspx
  • EDC-4 Integrating Mobile Observations IMO Resource Toolkit:
    https://collaboration.fhwa.dot.gov/dot/fhwa/RWMX/SiteAssets/Weather%20Savvy%20Roads.aspx

FHWA RWMP Factsheets, Flyers, and Technical Research Reports

FHWA has developed hundreds of publications, including factsheets, flyers, and research reports to advance the mission to lead and support the road weather community in the development and deployment of innovative technologies, solutions, and strategies. See below for a few examples and view all RWM publications.

• Climate Resilience Risk Assessment Tool and Guide: Literature Review, Technology Scan, and Interviews Report (FHWA-HOP-23-047)
  • This report identifies current and emerging data collection, infrastructure surveillance, monitoring technologies, and similar approaches for monitoring changing environmental and weather conditions. In addition, the report examines using risk-based analysis tools to identify road locations potentially vulnerable to such changing conditions.
• Automated Vehicles and Adverse Weather (AVAW-3) Final Report (FHWA-HOP-21-047)
  • ​​​​​​​FHWA is exploring automated vehicle (AV) needs, opportunities, and potential shortcomings during adverse weather conditions in response to recent advancements in AV technology. The objective of this testing is to explore how adverse weather and road conditions in different driving environments affect AV dynamics and operations, driver behavior, and AV-sensing capabilities.
• Integrated Modeling for Road Condition Prediction: Can IMRCP be a window into the future?
  • ​​​​​​​FHWA initiated research in 2015 to develop the Integrated Modeling for Road Condition Prediction (IMRCP) system. The IMRCP tool gathers historical, real-time, and forecast data from a variety of sensor systems and models. These data and models include atmospheric and road weather, hydrology, traffic, work zones, winter maintenance operations, incidents, special events, and demand models.

Road Weather Spotlight Webinar Series

The Road Weather Spotlight Series is a webinar series created by the FHWA RWMP and hosted by the National Operations Center of Excellence. These webinars offer speakers a platform to share with the road weather community their valuable insights into the latest challenges, innovations, and strategies impacting their transportation system and traveling public.

Since 2022, the Road Weather Spotlight Series has covered a wide range of important topics, such as road weather technological innovations, adverse weather, trainings, planned special events, and much more. 10th, September, and November in 2024. The series will continue through 2025, as well If you’d like to receive updates and register for upcoming webinars in this series, sign up for our mailing list.

Recordings from previous webinars are accessible below:

2024 Recorded Webinars

2022 Recorded Webinars

RWM Training

RWMP courses intend to provide transportation professionals in highway maintenance and/or highway operations with opportunities to develop tools and strategies for addressing road weather problems. They also offer interactive introductions to anti-icing and winter maintenance, winter road maintenance management, winter roadway hazards and principles of overcoming them, weather basics, weather and roadway monitoring for anti-icing decisions, computer access to road weather information, and anti-icing practice in winter maintenance operations. Below is a list of important training courses for industry professionals.

• Principles and Tools for Road Weather Management: This course provides transportation professionals in highway maintenance and/or highway operations with training to develop tools and strategies for addressing road weather problems. Participants are exposed to various strategies for addressing road weather problems, including Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) and the development of crosscutting decision support systems to respond effectively to weather situations.
• RWIS Equipment and Operations: This course discusses RWIS initiatives and considerations, as well as explores individual state and local deployment challenges through workshops, exercises, and self-assessments, which provides participants with an action plan tailored for their specific needs.
• Weather-Responsive Traffic Management: This course provides information and guidance to transportation system managers and operators to help them effectively manage traffic flow and operations during adverse weather conditions. Specific guidance is provided on how to choose, design, and implement WRTM strategies that are appropriate for different roadway, traffic and weather conditions.
• RWM Capability Maturity Framework (CMF) Tool: Capability Maturity Frameworks are concepts with roots from the software development industry. Modeled after the AASHTO Systems Operations and Maintenance guidance, this tool assesses road weather management capability in the same six dimensions — Business Processes, Systems and Technology, Culture, Organization and Workforce, Performance Measurement, and Collaboration. However, in this tool, road weather management is viewed as a subset of the larger Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSM&O) program. The capability levels and the actions are more focused and defined from a traffic manager's perspective. When the current capabilities are determined, the tool provides a list of concrete actions for agencies to raise their capabilities to the desired levels.

Outreach and Upcoming Events (Newsletters, Webinars, Workshops, Peer Exchanges, Roundtables, etc.)

FHWA’s RWMP develops, sustains, and grows partnerships with the road weather community, stakeholders, and organizations through in-person events, webinars, resources, and other outreach opportunities. State departments of transportation have needs and constraints regarding knowledge and technology transfer as the list to the right highlights. 

RWMP disseminates relevant, proven road weather practices, tools, technologies, trainings, and strategies to meet these challenges, both for State departments of transportation and other stakeholders. The team produces and distributes resources in a plethora of mediums, such as:

• Quarterly newsletters: Topics include new research, outreach products, funding opportunities and more. Sign up to receive our quarterly newsletter
• Factsheets, Case Studies, Technical Briefs: These products range in subject matter and offer detailed information in various form factors.
• Stakeholder events: These in-person and virtual events help the RWMP keep a pulse on what is new and what the various audiences are looking for in terms of tools and research.
• Webinars: RWMP-focused webinars provide stakeholders with tailored information on important topics like agency initiatives, new technologies and data, and case studies conducted by various agencies and State DOTs. 
• Trade Articles/Blogs: Stay up to date with the latest news in related media in the latest Public Roads Magazine and Innovator issue. 

Stay tuned for upcoming events!

RWM Partners and Resources

To access additional road weather resources, visit:

• Solar Eclipse Resources
• Road Weather Management Peer Exchange 2022
• I-84 Snow Zone Safety Improvements Case Study
• Utah DOT Weather Management System
• Roadway Flood Warning System

RWMP has relationships with the following organizations and Pooled Fund Studies:

• American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
• American Meteorological Society (AMS)
• Aurora Program
• Clear Roads
• Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA)
• Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) Pooled Fund Study
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) & National Weather Service, NWS
• National Weather Association (NWA)Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology Interagengy Council for Advancing Meteorological Services
• Standing International Road Weather Commission (SIRWEC)
• Departments of Transportation (State, local, tribal, coalitions)
• World Road Association (PIARC)

Contact Us

We’d like to hear from you!

• David Johnson, Managing Disruptions to Operations Team Lead, FHWA: David.Johnson@dot.gov
• Jeremy McGuffey, FHWA: Jeremy.McGuffey@dot.gov

Interested in the latest updates from RWMP? Sign up to receive our Quarterly Newsletter here.