Problem
State DOTs are always looking for ways to better prepare for winter storms/seasons, but this is a difficult proposition because tools and software programs to provide this kind of information are not commonplace.
The Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index (AWSSI) is a simple and straightforward tool that was developed by the Midwestern Regional Climate Center using nonproprietary data that is available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for numerous locations within each state.
The first iteration of this project modified this tool to make it more useful to state DOTs as they prepare for future winter storms/seasons. The second phase of this project made further improvements to the tool.
Objective
The objective of this project was to continue to expand on the current AWSSI tool to add more stations and provide additional features to allow for winter severity projections and connect winter severity to winter maintenance costs.
Results
This project continued the process of improving the tool developed by the MRCC. This iteration added additional locations to the AWSSI tool; updated the average AWSSI seasonal total map through the 2019-2020 season; added the ability to download the daily seasonal data for any given station during the current season; and provided the user with the ability to add up to five specific historical seasons to be included in any station’s current year chart.