Dear Colleague,

1\. For surface transportation, the unintended consequences of
weather-related incidents, accidents, and crashes include fatalities,
injuries, property damage, lost productivity, reduced capacity, and
delays. By meeting the weather needs of surface transportation users, we
can often increase safety and realize economic benefits at the same
time. To delineate the weather needs of surface transportations users,
the Federal meteorological community, led by the Office of the Federal
Coordinator for Meteorology and the Federal Highway Administration, took
on this important task that culminated in the December 2002 report
entitled, *Weather Information for Surface Transportation\--National
Needs Assessment Report,* (available at the following Web site:
<http://www.ofcm.gov/wist_report/wist-report.htm>). The report
categorized the weather needs into the following six surface
transportation sectors: roadway, long-haul railway, marine
transportation system, rural and urban transit, pipeline systems, and
airport ground operations. Please see attachment 1 for additional
details concerning these sectors.

2\. Just recently, the Working Group for Weather Information for Surface
Transportation (WG/WIST), a group made up of representatives from many
Federal departments and agencies, began developing a plan that
prioritizes the surface transportation weather information
**[research]{.underline}** needed to provide improved weather
information and services to the surface transportation community. The
goal of the WG/WIST: 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. **[To help develop
this plan, the working group has developed 3 fact-finding actions,
detailed in paragraph 3, for which we need your input by May 12,
2006.]{.underline}**

Note: Additional information concerning the WG/WIST can be found at
attachment 2.

3\. Action Requested:

a\. The WG/WIST is developing a prioritized listing of the weather
parameters/events that have the largest impact on the surface
transportation system, contributing to fatalities, injuries, and
inefficiencies (i.e., delays and increased costs)***.*** We request your
inputs on what you believe these weather parameters/events are. Please
provide your prioritized weather parameters/events list, categorized in
one or more of the surface transportation sectors described in
paragraph 1. For an example of how the Federal Highway Administration's
roadway weather-related impact data was provided, please see attachment
3, as this is an example of how you might structure your input.

b\. The WG/WIST is also interested in learning if you are
conducting/sponsoring or plan to conduct/sponsor (next 1 to 3 years) any
surface transportation weather-related research or development. We would
greatly appreciate your input on the following (see attachment 4 for a
template to use):

\(1\) Name of the research project being conducted/sponsored.

\(2\) Who is conducting the research?

\(3\) What surface transportation weather-related problem are you trying
to solve and what surface transportation safety, mobility or efficiency
benefits do you see resulting from your efforts?

\(4\) What prompted this effort to be started (e.g., report
recommendation, DOT project)?

\(5\) When are the results of the research expected to be available for
others to use?

Note: The WG/WIST also plans to hold a series of mini-workshops in early
June to hear more about such R&D efforts, which will help cross-flow
information between organizations and offer a forum for participants to
become more familiar with the WG/WIST's activities. **We will provide
more information on these workshops in the near future.**

c\. Finally, we would be interested in your 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.

4\. Please contact us through Frank Estis at email address
<frank.estis@noaa.gov>, phone number 301-427-2056, ext 27, or by fax at
301-427-2007 if you have questions, and to provide your input. The
WG/WIST members look forward to working with you and thank you for your
support.

Samuel P. Williamson

Federal Coordinator for Meteorology