Citation

Kroeber S, Grabow D, Osborne L. Transp. Res. Circular 2008; (E-C126): 393-402.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, U.S. National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Winter travel in the Snow Belt areas of the United States can be hazardous during times of blizzards, winter storms, and blowing snow events. For surface transportation, precipitation does not have to be falling in order for travel to become hazardous. Wind alone can transport snow onto the roadway, which reduces visibility, and can begin to accumulate. The areas of roadway accumulation depend on the orientation of the roadway with respect to the prevailing winds during the event, the amount of snow mass present, and surface roughness factors along the roadway. Identifying the surface roughness or vertical extent of the vegetation is a geospatial problem that can be accomplished with ground-based observations. The University of North Dakota has been a national leader in the innovation of traveler information decision support systems and its location within the upper Midwest offers an excellent opportunity to assist rural America with improving methods of increased traveler safety through the study of blowing snow. Blowing snow models are currently being developed that would benefit greatly if detailed information on surface roughness and obstructions could be incorporated into the model initialization. This study was done using video embedded with Global Positioning System data to build a roadway vegetation data set in a geographic information system. The vegetation data were then used to initialize the computer model. This same video system was then used to map the locations of blowing snow so that it could validate the computer-based blowing snow model. The mapped locations for blowing snow were analyzed and compared to model outputs. This presentation will show the results from the development of a blowing snow susceptibility index. It will highlight the need for a blowing snow susceptibility index as well as examples of vegetation categories within the region used for surface transportation weather research.