Citation

McCullouch B, Belter D, Konieczny T, McClellan T. Transp. Res. Circular 2004; (E-C063): 167-178.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, U.S. National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The Indiana Department of Transportation (DOT) created the Winter Operations Team (WOT) committee to address issues associated with winter activities. Some of WOT's past activities have included developing its "Total Storm Management Manual" and studying the effectiveness of several chemicals used by Indiana DOT. WOT determined that a winter severity index (WSI) would be helpful for several reasons. A WSI could be used to compare the efforts of snow and ice removal between the different climatic zones in Indiana and to compare and analyze mild and severe winters. It could also provide a quantitative method for determining what relationships exist between different weather events and snow and ice removal. A subcommittee of the WOT was put together to study existing indices and to determine if one or a combination of indices could be used for Indiana DOT. The recommendation was that if other WSIs did not work, then an index for Indiana DOT should be developed. During development, the intent was to derive an index that did not require cumbersome and time-consuming data collection.