Driving through Extreme Weather (DEW) Mobile App: Improving Risk Communication from NWS to Vehicle Drivers

Yan, Grace; Zhao, Yi; Subbareddygari, Shreya Reddy; Hotra, Michael

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Driving through Extreme Weather (DEW) Mobile App: Improving Risk Communication from NWS to Vehicle Drivers

2025-06-01
By Yan, Grace ; Zhao, Yi ; Subbareddygari, Shreya Reddy ; ...

File Language:

English

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Creators:

Yan, Grace ; Zhao, Yi ; Subbareddygari, Shreya Reddy ; Hotra, Michael
Corporate Creators:

Mid-America Transportation Center for Transportation Safety and Equity (MATC-TSE) Region 7 University Transportation Center (UTC)
Corporate Contributors:

Missouri University of Science and Technology. Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering ; United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology ; University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Subject/TRT Terms:

Decision Support Systems Driver Information Systems Mobile Applications Route Guidance Tornadoes Weather
Publication/ Report Number:

25-1121-3002-103
Resource Type:

Tech Report
Geographical Coverage:

United States
Edition:

Final report, January 2024 – May 2025
Corporate Publisher:

Mid-America Transportation Center for Transportation Safety and Equity (MATC-TSE) Region 7 University Transportation Center (UTC)
Abstract:

The Driving through Extreme Weather (DEW) project addresses the critical need for effective risk communication between the National Weather Service (NWS) and vehicle drivers during severe weather events, particularly tornadoes. Many travelers either fail to receive timely weather warnings or lack actionable guidance on how to respond while on the road. To close this gap, this project developed and demonstrated a prototype mobile application integrated with a backend decision-support system. The app provides real-time visualization of severe weather alerts—including storm origin, path direction, and affected zones—using a user-friendly map interface. Built on a Django REST backend and an Android-based frontend, the DEW system dynamically renders tornado alerts as geospatial polygons and warns drivers if their planned route intersects hazardous areas. The app leverages data from the NWS and Google Maps APIs to guide user decisions during active weather threats. While the full route optimization algorithm is reserved for future work, the current system successfully enables timely and location-specific risk awareness for drivers. This prototype offers a scalable framework for enhancing public safety on roadways and lays the foundation for broader deployment and integration with commercial navigation platforms.
Format:

PDF
Funding:

69A3552348307
Collection(s):

University Transportation Centers
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha-512:19db0740ae5eca429375be304cc88026e6b9294bd697f1b0f33573870d7993517e21ad4cac832dea409256f37a95209d2b29fd3a0dc6a52a00a89b980b4bedea
Download URL:

https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/85610/dot_85610_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 2.53 MB ]

File Language:

English

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