The transition months between fall and winter contain sudden weather changes that can shut down airports entirely. Add climate change to the equation, along with two of the year's most popular traveling holidays, and it's become more difficult than ever for airports to anticipate and adapt to the escalating severity of winter weather.
Winter Storms Impact Traveling Families the Most
It seems like almost every major city east of the Mississippi and north of the Mason-Dixon Line has had their own "Snowpocalypse" or "Snowmageddon." Once used to describe specific blizzards, those terms now refer to a slew of winter events across several cities.
These major storms have had positive impacts on airports by forcing them to evaluate and improve their assets and operations more completely. The problem is that airports are aiming for a moving target. Climate change is causing never-before-seen weather changes and very little airport-specific climate change research has ever been done.
Working Together for Safer Seasonal Travel
As part of the Transportation Research Board's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP), a Dewberry-led team of climate scientists and professionals specializing in hazard identification, atmospheric and coastal modeling, risk assessment, and airport infrastructure have created a screening tool to help airports assess the risk climate change poses to their assets and operations.
Extensive background research, airport surveys, and analysis of historic weather data helped us form a baseline understanding of how climate impacts may affect airport operations. After taking into account airport location, the tool guides users through a process of defining how critical certain assets (such as drainage systems, cargo processing facilities, and navigational aids) are to everyday operations.
The tool also defines how severely those assets would be impaired by weather-related events. Defined as how a particular asset fares under current conditions, severity could be a terminal suffering from building moisture and mold. A more humid climate in 2030 would certainly exacerbate the structures' current vulnerabilities.
The tool then evaluates how a range of airport-specific climate vectors, which we define as anticipated climate changes by 2030 and 2060, would impact those assets and operations. These vectors could include days over 90 degrees, days below freezing, and stormy days. The result is a prioritized list of at-risk assets and operations for airports to evaluate and respond to.
Testing in 2014, Rolling Out in 2015
At this time, nine airports from Boston, Massachusetts, to Portland, Oregon, are testing and evaluating the tool – a national cross-section that should help refine usability by early 2015.
While not all of us emergency managers are close enough to help communities shovel out of a storm, by developing this effective tool we can help make their holiday travel a little smoother and a lot safer.