UPDATE: Wednesday, February 4th, 2015
WeatherShare, a web application that provides users with real-time and forecasted weather conditions, road information and alerts across California’s 16,600 miles of highway, is undergoing significant changes. WeatherShare will become Caltrans’ repository for Caltrans RWIS data in addition to other weather information.
Caltrans maintenance and operations personnel will have access to real-time and historical weather information that will help them better manage roadways, apply treatments and handle weather-related incidents. This unique combination of weather information with near real-time road sensor data will allow Caltrans crews to make the best-possible decisions both for maintenance operations and incident response.
The specific research objectives for WeatherShare Phase 3 include:
- Research and develop the Prototype System Concept and Requirements
- Research and develop the Prototype System Design to account for data retrieval, storage, processing, user management and interfaces.
- Research and develop the prototype system.
- Test and evaluate the prototype system.
With this phase of the project comes a transition for WeatherShare from a public information outlet to one in tended primarily for use by Caltrans personnel. However, another Caltrans project, the One Stop Shop, has stepped in to provide travelers with important road and weather information. This division of roles will allow the two systems to better focus on the diverse needs of both travelers and maintence teams.
The One Stop Shop, or OSS, shows drivers what conditions they might face and where they will encounter them, including warnings from the National Weather Service such as dense fog advisories.
A Caltrans CCTV image from SR 41 near Fresno shows that there is indeed low hanging fog along the highway. It is information such as this that can make OSS an asset to travelers.
The One Stop Shop is available to the public at oss.weathershare.org, and more information about the project can be found on the OSS project page. For more information about the WeatherShare project, visit its project page.