Response Time of Pavement Temperatures during Liquid
to Frozen Precipitation Events (219)
Derrick Snyder, National
Weather Service, Paducah, Kentucky
Ashley Ravenscraft, National
Weather Service
Patrick Spoden, National
Weather Service
Abstract:
As the National Weather
Service (NWS) expands its role as an impact-based decision support (IDSS)
service organization, NWS forecasters are trying to expand their field of
knowledge of how weather impacts IDSS core partners to provide more useful
forecasts and briefing information. A common type of winter event in the Lower
Ohio and Mid-Mississippi River Valley is transition winter weather events,
where liquid precipitation falls during the onset and then transitions to
frozen precipitation. Understanding how pavement temperatures respond during
these types of winter weather scenarios will help NWS forecasters provide
better service.
Using archived meteorological
data and observations, taken from road weather information sensors maintained
by the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Kentucky Transportation
Cabinet, several case studies of transition winter precipitation were analyzed
to determine the response of pavement temperatures. As an example, during one
transition winter weather event, pavement temperatures remained above freezing
as the air temperature fell below freezing, resulting in minimal snow/ice
accumulation on the road surface with icing on elevated surfaces. This
presentation will discuss the case study evaluation process, and outline
findings and recommendations for forecasters.