# Presentation: 649756

## Symposium On

**WEATHER INFORMATION FOR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION**
**“****Preparing for the Future: Improved Weather Information for Decision-Makers”**
**December 4 - 6, 2000**

** ****Technical Risks**

** ****Decision Support System**

** ****Requirements**

** ****Capabilities**

**Notes:**
[This slide will be displayed during the time leading up to the start of welcoming remarks.]

## Weather Information For Surface Transportation “Preparing for the Future: Improved Weather Information for Decision-Makers”

***Weather Information For Surface Transportation****** ****“Preparing for the Future: Improved Weather Information for Decision-Makers”*

**Samuel P. Williamson**
**Federal Coordinator**
**Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research**

***INTRODUCTION***

**Notes:**
[Self - Introduction.]

## WELCOME!

***WELCOME!***

**WEATHER INFORMATION FOR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION**
**December 4 - 6, 2000**
**DoubleTree Hotel**
**Rockville, Maryland**

**Co-sponsored by**
**The Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (OFCM)**
**and the**
**Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) **

**Notes:**
Welcome to Bethesda, Maryland, and the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center
This is a user forum entitled “Aviation Weather:  Opportunities for Implementation”
On behalf of the co-sponsors, the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology and the Federal Aviation Administration, I welcome you to what I hope you will find to be an informative and stimulating one and a half day forum

## WELCOME!

## !

**!**

**This forum is being audio recorded to aid in the development of the summaries to appear in the proceedings.**
**Audio tapes will ****NOT**** be made available or distributed!  **

**Notes:**
Please be aware that we will be making an audio recording of the forum to help us in the preparation of the proceedings.  We won’t be making it available for use outside this purpose and we do not intend to keep the tapes beyond the time needed to prepare the proceedings.  If you have any questions, please see one of the staff members from OFCM.

## BACKGROUND
WHY WE ARE HERE
OFCM PRIMER
OBJECTIVES
AGENDA
PRESENTATION AVAILABILITY
SUMMARY

**WHY WE ARE HERE**
**OFCM PRIMER**
**OBJECTIVES**
**AGENDA**
**PRESENTATION AVAILABILITY**
**SUMMARY**

***OVERVIEW***

***Symposium on Weather Information For Surface Transportation (WIST)****** ***

**Notes:**
Here’s what we’ll be doing initially this morning
I want to set the stage for you a little bit and briefly explain how we got to this point today
Then, we are pleased to have joining us today Mr. Peter Challan, Deputy Associate Administrator for Air Traffic Services from the FAA, and Mr. Scott Gudes, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere in the Department of Commerce.  They will be inspiring us  momentarily with their opening remarks for this forum.

## September 1998: Symposium on Advanced Multimodal Transportation Weather Services, Volpe Center
Identify weather information needs and weather products 
Plan implementation of advanced multimodal weather services through cooperative partnerships
December 1998: Meeting of Interdepartmental Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (ICMSSR) 
Directed formation of WIST Joint Action Group (JAG) 

**Identify weather information needs and weather products **
**Plan implementation of advanced multimodal weather services through cooperative partnerships**
**December 1998:**** Meeting of Interdepartmental Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (ICMSSR) **
**Directed formation of WIST Joint Action Group (JAG)**** **

***BACKGROUND***

**Where Have We Been?**

**Notes:**
Here’s what we’ll be doing initially this morning
I want to set the stage for you a little bit and briefly explain how we got to this point today
Then, we are pleased to have joining us today Mr. Peter Challan, Deputy Associate Administrator for Air Traffic Services from the FAA, and Mr. Scott Gudes, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere in the Department of Commerce.  They will be inspiring us  momentarily with their opening remarks for this forum.

## July - November 1999
Distributed and received completed questionnaires
Conducted interviews with Federal agencies
December 1999
First WIST Symposium
Co-sponsored by OFCM and U.S. DOT-FHWA
January - May 2000
Conducted additional interviews -- Federal and others
Built initial questionnaire database
Designed follow-on requirements survey

**Distributed and received completed questionnaires**
**Conducted interviews with Federal agencies**
**December 1999**
**First WIST Symposium**
**Co-sponsored by OFCM and U.S. DOT-FHWA**
**January - May 2000**
**Conducted additional interviews -- Federal and others**
**Built initial questionnaire database**
**Designed follow-on requirements survey**

***BACKGROUND***

**Where Have We Been?**

**Notes:**
Here’s what we’ll be doing initially this morning
I want to set the stage for you a little bit and briefly explain how we got to this point today
Then, we are pleased to have joining us today Mr. Peter Challan, Deputy Associate Administrator for Air Traffic Services from the FAA, and Mr. Scott Gudes, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere in the Department of Commerce.  They will be inspiring us  momentarily with their opening remarks for this forum.

## June - October 2000
Conducted follow-on survey
Designed and entered information in database
November 2000
Analyzed database
Used database information with specifically targeted responses to build “template requirements” 
Airport ground operations
Washington Reagan National Airport--Operations Division
Two commercial airline companies
Roadway and rail transit
FHWA / State DOTs
Connecticut and Washington DC roadway and rail transit
National Troopers’ Coalition
Railways:  American Association of Railways
Waterways:  US Coast Guard -- Great Lakes (9th District)

**Conducted follow-on survey**
**Designed and entered information in database**
**November 2000**
**Analyzed database**
**Used database information with specifically targeted responses to build “template requirements” **
**Airport ground operations**
**Washington Reagan National Airport--Operations Division**
**Two commercial airline companies**
**Roadway and rail transit**
**FHWA / State DOTs**
**Connecticut and Washington DC roadway and rail transit**
**National Troopers’ Coalition**
**Railways:****  American Association of Railways**
**Waterways:****  US Coast Guard -- Great Lakes (9th District)**

***BACKGROUND***

**Where Have We Been?**

**Notes:**
Here’s what we’ll be doing initially this morning
I want to set the stage for you a little bit and briefly explain how we got to this point today
Then, we are pleased to have joining us today Mr. Peter Challan, Deputy Associate Administrator for Air Traffic Services from the FAA, and Mr. Scott Gudes, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere in the Department of Commerce.  They will be inspiring us  momentarily with their opening remarks for this forum.

## Participants from 1999 Symposium Complete Questionnaire   

Publish Proceedings by February 2000

Continue Exploration of Requirements Using the WIST JAG

Distribute Draft Requirements Document in May/June 2000

Publish Requirements document by Summer 2000

WIST Symposium in Fall 2000

**Publish Proceedings by February 2000**
**Continue Exploration of Requirements Using the WIST JAG**
**Distribute Draft Requirements Document in May/June 2000**
**Publish Requirements document by Summer 2000**
**WIST Symposium in Fall 2000**

***BACKGROUND***

**Review of 1999 WIST Symposium Major Action Items**

**Notes:**
Here’s what we’ll be doing initially this morning
I want to set the stage for you a little bit and briefly explain how we got to this point today
Then, we are pleased to have joining us today Mr. Peter Challan, Deputy Associate Administrator for Air Traffic Services from the FAA, and Mr. Scott Gudes, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere in the Department of Commerce.  They will be inspiring us  momentarily with their opening remarks for this forum.

## WHY WE ARE HERE

- The transportation system is comprised of 3.9 million miles of public roads, and 2 million miles of oil and natural gas pipelines.  There are networks consisting of 120 thousand miles of major railroads, and over 25 thousand miles of commercially navigable waterways.
- 			         			        US DOT Strategic Plan, 2000-2005

- Goal:  “Develop a National Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure Architecture that includes **ALL** information needs of transportation including **WEATHER** information.”
- 						            US DOT Strategic Plan, 2000-2005

- Roadway accidents are influenced by a wide variety of factors such as geometrics, **WEATHER**, and driver behavior.
- 						                  Federal Highway Administration

- Boating-related fatalities rank second only to car crashes as the cause of transportation-related deaths in the United States; 6% of 1998 boating accidents listed WEATHER as a contributing factor.
- 				          			           	   U.S. Coast Guard

- In 1996, households spent, on average, about 17% of their total expenditures on transportation.
- 			              Bureau of Transportation Statistics Annual Report to Congress, 1999

**Notes:**
Why are we here?
Each of us in this room has a stake in the safe and efficient operation of our national aviation systems--our National Airspace System is vital to our daily activities and touches nearly every American in some way or another
We’re all quite familiar with the need to save lives and save money and time, and most of us are familiar with the aggressive White House Commission goal of reducing by 80% the rate of fatal aviation accidents by the year 2007.  Improvements in aviation weather products and services, getting those products and services to the user, user training, and sound weather decision making are critical components  in the effort to achieve this goal
Not even counting corporate flight operations or the small business person’s beneficial use of general aviation, this sector of our economy is well over 100 billion dollars.  That’s just in operating revenues - the collateral impact on our economy is staggering

## WHY WE ARE HERE

**Notes:**
We’ve seen the headlines throughout the summer trumpeting the record number of delays largely attributed to weather.  From the AP Wire on June 16th, “A new system designed to improve the flow of air traffic during severe weather helped reduce delays by seven percent last month.”  But then on July 10th from Reuters, “June was a frustrating month to fly...” and “record number of delayed flights.”  And from the Washington Post, headline: “Flying into a Storm of Delays”.  
The delays are clearly on the minds of the American public and most of us in this room are working on solutions to this increasingly frustrating problem.

Every day, thousands of aircraft take to the skies, and we’re here today to find ways to help them operate safely and conduct their business efficiently

## WHY WE ARE HERE

**1997-1999 U.S. Motor Vehicle Fatal Crashes**

***WHY WE ARE HERE***

- Rain   Snow   Fog   Rain   Other
-                               & Fog

- Percentage

**Source:  US DOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration**

**Fatal Crashes With Adverse Weather Occurring **

**Over 12% of the fatal crashes occurred during inclement weather**

**Notes:**
Unfortunately, not every flight meets a safe conclusion since weather or weather decision making present many opportunities for accidents and, regrettably, especially fatal accidents.
In data taken from the Air Safety Foundation’s Nall Report, you can see here that weather is quite consistently a cause in one-fifth to one-third of fatal general aviation accidents.
This is a complex problem within the huge spectrum of aviation activities and requires a coordinated and integrated effort to solve.  The National Aviation Weather Program is committed to this effort.

## The weather community has made significant progress in many areas
Increased weather information for surface transportation focus among agencies
Defining requirements
Computing power and improved models
Visualization techniques
Communications
Gaps still exist in the weather information for surface transportation program

**Increased weather information for surface transportation focus among agencies**
**Defining requirements**
**Computing power and improved models**
**Visualization techniques**
**Communications**
**Gaps still exist in the weather information for surface transportation program**

***WHY WE ARE HERE***

**Notes:**
The aviation weather community, including the government and private sectors, academia, and aircraft and avionics manufacturers, as a whole has made significant progress across many areas
We continue to see expanding computing power and the resulting improvements in numerical weather prediction and improved nowcasting tools
We see a strong desire and some success in moving to new visualization techniques to make assimilating and interpreting weather information easier
Communicating weather information is getting faster and easier
Cockpit displays are also capitalizing on increasing microcomputing power to bring astonishing new information to the pilot or flight crew, including color multifunctional displays that fit in small general aviation aircraft and are affordable.
However, we have not yet met our objectives and we still have gaps of either knowledge or action with respect to the initiatives--this is a large part of why we have asked you to come here for these two days.  We want to know if you are working in the “gap” areas or if no one is working there.  And if no one is working there, how can we go about plugging these gaps? 

## We have many opportunities for surface transportation weather service improvements
Integration of existing observation networks
Product development and dissemination
Weather information displays
Decision support systems and capabilities
User education and training
We have opportunities to implement improvements now
We have opportunities to positively identify areas     needing attention and priority

**Integration of existing observation networks**
**Product development and dissemination**
**Weather information displays**
**Decision support systems and capabilities**
**User education and training**
**We have opportunities to implement improvements now**
**We have opportunities to positively identify areas     needing attention and priority**

***WHY WE ARE HERE***

**Notes:**
The title for this forum includes the words “opportunities for implementation”, and over the next day and a half, we will look at and discuss the areas of product development and dissemination, displays, decision support systems and capabilities, and how we train producers and users to be most effective.
You will see that some improvements have already been implemented and others are on the verge.
And you will see that much remains to be done, and we need your inputs to identify those areas needing attention and priority

So these are the reasons we are meeting.  
What I want to do now is give you a very brief picture of the “flight profile”, so to speak, that has brought us to this point today and to set a common reference for those of you who have not been directly or continuously involved in the National Aviation Weather Initiatives.

## OFCM PRIMER

**To ensure the effective use of federal meteorological resources by leading the systematic coordination of operational weather requirements and services, and supporting research, among the federal agencies.**

***OFCM PRIMER***

**Who is OFCM?**

_***Mission***_

**Notes:**
We work with many of you on a frequent basis, but for those of you who are not familiar with the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research, or OFCM for short, I want to take just a moment for explanation.
Our mission is to ensure the effective use of federal meteorological resources by leading the systematic coordination of operational weather requirements and services, and supporting research, among the federal agencies.
More information about us is available in the brochure that was included in your registration materials this morning.  The brochure also lists our web site which contains additional information and many of our publications, including the National Aviation Weather Program Strategic Plan and the National Aviation Weather Initiatives.
Included in the brochure is the diagram of our coordinating infrastructure...

## OFCM PRIMER

**Interdepartmental Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (ICMSSR)**

_**Federal Coordinator for Meteorology**_

_**Standing Committees**_

_**Program Councils**_

**National Space Weather Program**

**National Aviation Weather Program**

**Environmental Services, Operations, and Research Needs**

**Operational Processing Centers**

**Environmental Information Systems and Communications**

**Integrated Observing Systems**

**Climate Monitoring and Services**

**Cooperative Research**

***OFCM PRIMER***

**Coordinating Infrastructure**

**Notes:**
At the top of this structure lies the Federal Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research, chaired by Dr. D. James Baker, NOAA Administrator and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.  In this capacity, he is representing the Executive Office of the President and the members represent the top-level, meteorology policymakers in the federal government.
Aligned under the Federal Committee, through the Federal Coordinator, is the National Aviation Weather Program Council and I am the chairman of the Council.
The Council is comprised of the top-level aviation weather stakeholders from the agencies and it oversees a Joint Action Group for Aviation Weather.

## OFCM PRIMER

**Listed on inside ****back**** cover of ****	****program**

***OFCM PRIMER***

**Membership of Joint Action Group**

**Notes:**
Rather than go into a listing of the members of these two groups, I will direct you the inside front and back covers of your program where the membership and their agencies are listed.

Let’s now take a look at the development path for the National Aviation Weather Initiatives.

## Provide status of needs and requirements analysis
Solicit feedback for validation  
Provide update / summarize progress and activities over the last 12 months
Identify initiatives / programs that are currently underway or being planned
Illuminate gaps where additional focus is required
Identify next steps / actions toward improving weather information for decision-makers

**Solicit feedback for validation  **
**Provide update / summarize progress and activities over the last 12 months**
**Identify initiatives / programs that are currently underway or being planned**
**Illuminate gaps where additional focus is required**
**Identify next steps / actions toward improving weather information for decision-makers**

_**Overarching objectives are to:**_

***SYMPOSIUM OBJECTIVES***

**Notes:**
We want to update you on programs and processes which have already been implemented or are ready to be implemented.
We want to identify promising programs that will need on-going support to reach fruition.
We want to illuminate gaps where neither the government agencies nor the private sector has work planned or in progress.
And we want to identify overlaps and assess them.  Overlaps aren’t necessarily undesirable since in some cases they encompass competing technologies without a clear outcome at this point.

So, I think you can see that we have put before us a large task.  But, we have also brought together a diverse group of leaders in aviation weather and we look forward to your presentations and discussions.

## AGENDA

- Intermodal Transportation Systems

- FORETELL - Demonstration

- Requirements Review / Analysis Process

**Mr. Jeff Paniati, Deputy Director Joint Program Office**

**Mr. Steven Sheffield, Castle Rock Consultants**

**Mr. Christopher A. Moren, OFCM (STC)**

**Today**

## AGENDA

- Panel 2A:	Government Capabilities, Services, and Initiatives

**Moderator:  Mr. Douglas Jonas, Matrix Management**
**                     ****Group**

**Moderator:  Ms. Faye Arvonio, USPS**

**Reception / Mixer:  Executive Dining Room**

***AGENDA***

**Today**

## AGENDA

- Panel 3:	Technical Risks and Challenges

**Moderator:  Ms. Sandy Thompson;  NWA TV Committee**

**Moderator:  Mr. Kenneth Kobetsky, AASHTO**

- Recap of Panels 1 and 2A

***AGENDA***

**Tomorrow**

## AGENDA

- Panel 4B:	 Commercial Decision Support Capabilities and Services

**Moderator:  Ms. Shelley J. Row, DOT- FHWA**

**Moderator:  Mr. Todd Glickman, MIT**

- Luncheon Speaker: 511 Implementation
- 		 in Washington DC Metro area
** ****Mr. Doug Frye, George Mason University School of**
**                            ****Public Policy**

***AGENDA***

**Tomorrow**

## AGENDA

**Mr. Samuel P. Williamson, Federal Coordinator**
**	****	****	****          ****for Meteorology**

- Recap of Panels 2B, 3 and 4

***AGENDA***

**Wednesday**

## http://www.ofcm.gov/

**http://www.ofcm.gov/**

**Presentations and other material will be available on the OFCM web site shortly after the forum.**
**Click on “Special Projects” and navigate to the Weather Information for Surface Transportation Symposium section.**

***PRESENTATION AVAILABILITY***

**Notes:**
At the conclusion of the forum, we will make available to you the presentations and other materials through our web site.  The address is shown here and is also listed at the end of the agenda in your program.
We plan to post this material within the week following the forum and we will update it as more information comes in or is developed.

## SUMMARY

**Improved Safety, Efficiency, and Customer Satisfaction**

***SUMMARY***

**The Way Ahead**

**Notes:**
The program had its genesis in the National Research Council report in 1995 entitled “Weather for those who Fly.”  
From this report and several user forums hosted by the FAA, we developed the Strategic Plan.  The Council approved it and we published it in 1997.
The Joint Action Group then developed the National Aviation Weather Initiatives.  The user community had an opportunity to review and comment on the draft and, following Council approval, we published it in early 1999.

Since that time, we have been assessing agency activities within the framework of the initiatives to determine where progress is being made, where programs are planned, where we have gaps, and where we have overlaps.  

## Slide 27