LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department is getting its own weather forecaster.
The Arkansas Highway Commission has approved a request to proceed with a contract for a custom forecasting service, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported (https://bit.ly/QRQiiN ), because officials believe they need more timely and specialized weather information than what television forecasters and even the National Weather Service can provide.
“It’s very location-specific information, and very valuable in determining how and when to treat weather-related events,” highway department spokesman Randy Ort said.
The move to a custom forecasting service is part of the lessons the department said it learned from the harsh winter.
In the request, the department said it needed “custom forecasting services used by other states that provide hourly site-specific weather and road-condition forecasting” because “accurate and timely weather forecasts are a critical aspect of the planning and deployment of department resources in response to a winter weather event.”
The department developed the proposal as a result of meeting with Missouri Department of Transportation officials late last year to discuss ideas on how Arkansas could improve its response to snow and ice storms.
The agency began the process before the second of two major storms paralyzed much of east and northeast Arkansas for several days, as rapidly deteriorating weather conditions immobilized traffic on parts of Interstates 40 and 55.
Those problems were compounded by several days of subfreezing temperatures that followed the March 2 ice storm, which dumped an unusually large amount of sleet in a wide area.
The department’s response led to criticism from Gov. Mike Beebe and others, as well as a legislative hearing.
Missouri has had its own custom forecasting service for several years, said Tim Chojnacki, a maintenance engineer with an emphasis in winter operations for the Missouri Department of Transportation.
“We do feel it gives us an edge to prepare our response,” he said.
Missouri’s contract is for a six-month period ending April 30 and costs about $25,000. For that price, Missouri receives customized forecasts twice a day for each of its seven highway districts. Chojnacki pointed out Missouri spends about $47 million annually on snow and ice removal.
“With the National Weather Service and other (weather forecasters) you get a general area, but it doesn’t quite match up with our district boundaries,” Chojnacki said.
The forecasts include the probability of icing on roads and bridges and other information upon which state highway officials can act. The information is available on a website that all state highway officials can access.
“They are tuned into the transportation industry,” he said.
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, https://www.arkansasonline.com
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