Using Oklahoma City Micronet Data to Address Surface Transportation Challenges

The Oklahoma City Micronet (OKCNET) is an operational network designed to improve atmospheric monitoring across the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and includes important partnerships between the Oklahoma Climatological Survey at the University of Oklahoma, the City of Oklahoma City (OKC), and the Oklahoma Mesonet (a joint project between the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University). The state-of-the-art-network includes 4 Oklahoma Mesonet sites and 36 sites mounted on traffic signals and was designed to provide critical weather information for the daily operations of the City of Oklahoma City, to spur new scientific research focused on urban meteorology, and to serve as a resource for the citizens of Oklahoma.

Due to a series of technical innovations and existing infrastructure in Oklahoma City, data are collected, quality assured, and disseminated in near real-time at an interval of one-minute for the traffic signal sites and 5 minutes for the Mesonet sites. The observations are then utilized by a variety of end users including the City of Oklahoma City and surface transportation related issues. For example, the data is used to (a) pinpoint flood conditions at specific locations within drainage basins, (b) concentrate staff and equipment at specific locations during winter weather, and (c) qualitatively assess locations at risk during high wind events (e.g., dispersion, storm damage, and urban wildfires). This study will provide an overview of utility of OKCNET data to the City of Oklahoma City with specific focus on relevant cases.