Road Surface Condition Forecasting in France

Ludovic Bouilloud (1) , Eric Martin (2) , Florence Habets (3, 4) , Aaron Boone (2) , Patrick Le Moigne (2) , Jean Livet (5) , Mario Marchetti (5) , A. Foidart , Laurent Franchisteguy (6) , Sophie Morel (6) , Joël Noilhan (2) , P. Pettr

1 LTHE - Laboratoire d'étude des transferts en hydrologie et environnement
2 CNRM - Centre national de recherches météorologiques
3 SISYPHE - Structure et fonctionnement des systèmes hydriques continentaux
4 GEOSCIENCES - Centre de Géosciences
5 CETE Est - Centre d'études techniques de l'équipement Est
6 Météo-France

A numerical model designed to simulate the evolution of a snow layer on a road surface was forced by meteorological forecasts so as to assess its potential for use within an operational suite for road management in winter. The suite is intended for use throughout France, even in areas where no observations of surface conditions are available. It relies on short-term meteorological forecasts and long-term simulations of surface conditions using spatialized meteorological data to provide the initial conditions. The prediction of road surface conditions (road surface temperature and presence of snow on the road) was tested at an experimental site using data from a comprehensive experimental field campaign. The results were satisfactory, with detection of the majority of snow and negative road surface temperature events. The model was then extended to all of France with an 8-km grid resolution, using forcing data from a real-time meteorological analysis system. Many events with snow on the roads were simulated for the 2004/05 winter. Results for road surface temperature were checked against road station data from several highways, and results for the presence of snow on the road were checked against measurements from the Météo-France weather station network

Domaines: Planète et Univers [physics]; Sciences de la Terre; Météorologie

Ludovic Bouilloud, Eric Martin, Florence Habets, Aaron Boone, Patrick Le Moigne, et al.. Road Surface Condition Forecasting in France. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 2009, 48 (12), pp.2513-2527. ⟨10.1175/2009JAMC1900.1⟩. ⟨hal-00566609⟩