Late Thursday afternoon, moderate snow led to multiple crashes and trucks/cars sliding off I-90. As a result, the pass was closed for several hours, allowing the removal of vehicles and letting the WSDOT plows improve the drivability of the roadway.
Now, here is my frustration.
The snow was foreseeable. Weather information is so good now that we can warn folks in real time of the approaching snow band so that they can slow down!
The key modeling tool is the NOAA/NWS HRRR model, which runs at high resolution EVERY HOUR.
The 11-h snow forecast for 3-4 PM snow below. Snow around the pass!
You get the idea....snow was predicted on the western side of the Cascades and the Cascade passes well ahead of time.
In real time, the weather radar showed the snow falling at 4:30 PM.
A few years ago, I offered to build a system for WSDOT that would provide state-of-the-art prediction of snow in the pass with real-time updates provided by weather radar, satellite imagery, and other weather assets.
This real-time snow guidance could be used to update reader boards on the side of the highway.
The goal was to stop the snow closures and keep folks safe. Unfortunately, they were not interested.
Another example of valuable information available from meteorologists not being used effectively by society.
A few years ago, wasn't it the official position of WA State that there would be less snow in the mountains – implying safer mountain passes. A proposal to DOT that emphasized Climate Change and more snow might have worked. Or might have gotten you branded as a global warming denier. {I recommend a tunnel. The Europeans seem to have the knowledge.}
ReplyDeleteThere's a name for that sort of thing. It's call mass formation psychosis. Also explains the reaction to COVID.
DeleteTrying too hard.
DeleteSome people drive too fast for all conditions. Tailgating leaves no margin for error. Most vehicles have outside temperature readings, so the potential for icy roads can be identified. SLOW DOWN on icy conditions or rainy conditions.
DeleteA tunnel from Ellensburg to Seattle would be a mighty expensive proposition. It might be more cost effective to convince drivers of Ford Explorers, RAM 4x4s, Range Rovers, BMWs, and Teslas to quit their habit of driving at 80 miles per hour when it is snowing over the passes.
ReplyDeleteBetter enforcement of the variable speed limits would go a long way towards reducing closures. WSDOT can do everything perfectly, but if drivers don’t exercise good judgment, road closing accidents are inevitable.
ReplyDeleteThe problem here isn’t with WSDOT, it’s a people problem. The best information system in the world won’t get the crazies to slow down. You know, the people who say that they’re more worried about “others” when it snows, that they themselves are expert snow drivers.
ReplyDelete