Assessing people's actions and attitudes during the December 20-21, 2006, Colorado Front Range winter storm

In an average year, winter-weather is directly or indirectly involved in 400,000 vehicular accidents in the USA, leading to 1,300 fatalities and 118,000 injuries. Despite the high incidence of morbidity and mortality, relatively little is known about how the combination of weather forecasts, observed weather, and non-meteorological factors combine to influence driving decisions in winter weather conditions. To improve our understanding of decision-making related to driving in hazardous winter weather conditions, this study investigated driving decisions related to a winter storm that occurred along the Colorado Front Range on December 20–21, 2006. Specifically, this report investigated respondents' main sources for obtaining weather information for the December 20–21, 2006, winter storm; whether respondents stayed home on December 20, and if so, what information and characteristics influenced that decision; and what were the respondents' perceptions of the accuracy of the weather forecast. The results indicate that the vast majority of respondents relied on local television to get weather information leading up to and during the storm, highlighting the important role local broadcast meteorologists play in conveying information to the general public during major meteorological events. On the morning of Dec. 20, 48 percent of the respondents left home for work or school and 52 percent stayed home; of those who stayed home, 65 percent attributed their decision to stay home as being based on the weather forecast. Additionally, there is evidence that as self-reported anxiety levels related to driving in hazardous weather increased, the percentage of respondents staying home also increased; this reinforces the notion that decision-making related to hazardous weather events is not solely related to meteorological forecasts or conditions. For those that left home, 70 percent did not take any extra precautions before leaving, suggesting that additional public education is needed. Finally, in terms of perceptions of the forecast accuracy, a majority of respondents felt that the snow began to fall approximately when it was forecast to begin, but a majority of respondents believed that more snow fell than was actually forecast.