Road meteorology

In cooperation with the CHMI, a system for road condition forecasting with an emphasis on the winter period was created at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics. The system uses current data from road weather stations (RWS) of the Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic (RMD CR), outputs of the ALADIN numerical weather prediction model and satellite cloud measurements. The system's predictions are either point-based at the RWS locations or linearly continuous along the considered road. The forecasts can be used by road administrators, which are, for example, dispatcher workplaces of the RMD CR, the Road Maintenance Administration and the relevant administrations of larger cities for the operational deployment of maintenance equipment.

All predictions of the road surface condition and temperature use the FORTe model, which was created at the IAP by an extensive modification of the METRo model. These models calculate the heat conduction and energy balance equations in a 1D column on the road surface.

Example of forecast of road surface temperature and condition

Blue colour - full curve – forecast of road surface temperature (thick without radiation, thin with radiation) from the METRo model.

Blue colour - measurement of road surface temperature.

Red colour - full curve – forecast of air temperature in 2 meters from the ALADIN model interpolated to the station position.

Red colour - dashed curve – measurement of air temperature in 2 meters.

Green colour - full curve – forecast of dew point temperature in 2 meters from the ALADIN model interpolated to the station position.

Green colour - dashed curve – measurement of dew point temperature in 2 meters.

Black to light grey colour - older forecasts of road surface temperature by the METRo model, the lighter the colour, the older the prediction (see the legend in the upper right corner of the picture).

Light blue bars - precipitation (forecasted and measured).