An automated forecasting system has been developed to provide point forecasts used for road maintenance decision support. This system is a dynamic, integrated forecasting system that uses routine data sources and standard computing hardware to create automated weather forecasts. The system has been designed to be open and highly modular, in order to adjust to a changing forecasting environment due to diverse weather regions and fluctuating skill of forecast inputs. This system will produce forecasts of weather parameters, at locations at or near the roadways, which can be directly used to make inferences about the atmospheric and road conditions along the roadway.

As part of a Federal Highway Administration prototyping project, the automated road weather prediction system will be integrated with road maintenance decision support systems. This paper will describe the road weather prediction system, its interfaces, processing methods, and output.