For surface transportation, the unintended consequences of weather-related incidents, accidents, and crashes include fatalities, injuries, property damage, lost productivity, reduced capacity, and delays.

Background:
Since 1998, the Federal Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (FCMSSR) has made weather services and research and development (R&D) activities supporting the surface transportation community a priority for the Federal meteorological community. In December 2002, the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (OFCM) published the comprehensive report, Weather Information for Surface Transportation - National Needs Assessment Report. This publication provides the first ever compilation and analysis of weather support needs across six surface transportation sectors: roadway, railway, transit, marine transportation, pipeline systems, and airport ground operations.

The report also made a number of recommendations for future work regarding weather information for surface transportation (WIST) R&D needs. Among these recommendations were the suggestions to expand coordination among WIST R&D program managers and WIST providers; translate research results and new technologies into WIST applications; and provide the fundamental knowledge to support future technology development and application. In August 2004, acting on guidance from the ICMSSR, the OFCM established the Working Group for Weather Information for Surface Transportation (WG/WIST) to develop both a WIST R&D Plan and a WIST Implementation Plan.

Workshop Objectives:
This series of workshops is designed to provide a forum for members of the WG/WIST, together with representatives of the surface transportation weather research and user communities, to work together to implement the recommendations outlined above by:

1. Helping to determine the priorities for the surface transportation weather information research needed to provide improved weather information and services to the surface transportation community. The goal is to further improve the safety of the surface transportation system, and, equally important, improve the efficiency of the system to benefit the Nation’s overall economy.
   
2. Gathering and crossfeeding information concerning ongoing or planned (next 1 to 3 years) surface transportation weather-related research and development.
   
3. Hearing from workshop attendees on what they see as a vision (3-10+ years) of how weather information will be used to optimize surface transportation operations and safety, and what specific hurdles must be overcome to reach such a vision.

Workshop Overarching Concepts:
It’s worth repeating three key ideas from the December 2002, Weather Information for Surface Transportation - National Needs Assessment Report (referred to as the WIST Report), which should help focus our thoughts on some key concepts during these workshops.

1. The Twin Values of Safety and Economic Productivity. The WIST report demonstrates how the sometimes competing values of safety and economic benefits are closely intertwined when we consider the potential for improving the information available to all those who make decisions concerning surface transportation systems and activities. From the WIST report, we find that many of the impacts that increase costs, slow down a transportation activity, or divert resources from other tasks result from actions necessary to mitigate risks to the safety of personnel across the spectrum of transportation sector activities. By meeting the requirements for the provision of WIST to users, as outlined in the WIST report, we can often increase safety and realize economic benefits at the same time.
   
2. Primary Use for Decision Support. In a sense we have always used weather information as one input into life’s daily decisions: what to wear, when to plant or harvest, whether to move up or delay a shipment or a ship. The WIST Report corroborates and expands on a key point made in numerous other technical and program documents on transportation weather. The weather information provider community must better understand how users can incorporate more detailed weather information (which is also more accurate and at finer spatial and temporal scales) in operational decision-making processes.
   
3. Essential Cooperation among Weather Information Providers. The WIST report stresses that the broad requirements for the provision of weather information to meet surface transportation needs fall on the weather information provider community as a whole. The specificity and detail of information needed for individual users speak to important and expanding roles for private sector providers. The federal agency partners can provide basic weather and environmental observations and forecasts, encourage the transfer of research results into operations, and support the fundamental research and technology innovation needed to advance the state of the art. The WIST report’s use of the term “information provider community” is not a euphemism. Success in meeting these requirements will entail cooperative efforts and working partnerships among federal agencies; among federal, state, and “private-public” entities; and between the governmental and commercial sectors.

Workshop Format:
The workshops will originate from the offices of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology in Silver Spring, Maryland, with both teleconference and webcast connections available for those individuals that cannot attend in person due to distance or meeting room seating limitations. Starting on June 6th, the workshops will take place over 4 days, over a two week period. A schedule of what days and how groups will be arranged for the workshops is provided below.

June 6	June 7	June 13	June 14
1. Academic Community and Research Institutes 2. State weather-related initiatives 3. Environmental and Climate representatives	1. Commercial Weather Companies; Industry Associations (Weather, Road, Rail, Transit, Pipeline, Marine, Aviation, and others) 2. Commercial companies that use weather data; TV and Radio Broadcasters; Print and Web Media, and Other Disseminators of Information	1. Government Agencies (Federal, State, and Local) 2. Emergency Response; Homeland Security; National Defense; and Medical Response	1. Transportation Vehicle and Equipment Manufacturers 2. Weather Equipment and Network Manufacturers

The following draft daily schedule accounts for time zone differences of potential participants:

**Note: All times are Eastern Daylight Time**

1000-1015 Federal Coordinator’s Opening Remarks

1015-1030 Working Group for Weather Information for Surface Transportation WG/WIST Co-chair Opening Remarks and WG/WIST Activities Update

1030-1115 Surface Transportation Weather-Related Impact/Priority Data

1115-1145 Ongoing WIST R&D Activities Overview

1145-1245 Lunch on your own

1245-1430 WIST R&D Presentations and/or WIST Needs Presentations

1430-1530 Open Discussion Period

1530-1600 Wrap-up and Next Steps

Workshop Site:
The workshops will be hosted in and originate from (teleconference and webcast connections) the offices of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology in the Silver Spring Centre Building. The office address and phone numbers are:

Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology
8455 Colesville Road, Suite 1500
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301.427.2002
301.427.2007 (fax)

Link to directions to the OFCM offices