Winter Severity Index

Winter indexes describe the main characteristics of the road climate in an area and relate to the amount of maintenance activity needed.
Index calculations can show the severity of winter in a specific area by comparing different climate parameters, or compare the climate between different years or seasons.
Winter indices can be utilized for several applications and needs, e.g. to calculate the cost effectiveness of winter maintenance system in general,to perform more detailed cost/benefit calculations, to assess the cost effectiveness of an already existing warning system, or to calculate maintenance costs for a specific area.
With IRWIN index the objective of development and key application has been somewhat different, relating to the rapidly progressing climate change and urgent needs to get new tools for strategic decision-making.
Using IRWIN, it should be possible to calculate the present need for maintenance activities but also the need for activities that can be predicted to occur based on climate scenarios.
Linking index calculations to maintenance costs allows making of cost/benefit analyses today but also in the future.
The factors that need to be taken into account when developing a Road related Winter Index are:
• Ice. It is common to use temperature falls from positive to negative degrees to indicate the risk of ice formation and the need for salting operations.
• Precipitation in the form of snow or water. Types include direct snowfall, with air temperatures below 0oC, melting snow, or drifting snow when the snowfall occurs with strong winds. Rain, especially intense rain, may influence road safety by decreasing visibility and by causing aquaplaning. Super cooled rainwater or rains preceded by cold weather are hazardous as well since they may cause ice on the roads.
• Wind. Strong winds may force vehicles off the roads or in unwanted directions. Fallen trees or flying materials such as tree branches or litter may be trouble some to drivers.Winds may also create road blocks from drifting snow

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Winter Severity Index are an Italian New Wave group from Rome, formed by four young women who have already had experiences as musicians of the city scene . Simona collaborated with many Roman artits and worked as composer for theater; Diana Salzo played in other Indie and Post-Rock grups; Elyria was the drummer of Rock and Punk sets; Mushy worked and performed as solo artist in experimental projects. They joined in 2008 on the basis of their friendship and common interest for Eighties New Wave and Post-Punk music, working at first on some basic compostions by Simona Ferrucci, and then creating new ones together. After a short break, due to personal issues of the members, Winter Severity Index continued playing together in the Winter 2009, defining their common intention of creating a peculiar sound landscape, which totally reflects their personality and their specific taste in music. Different influences and moods converge in the project, in which cold and melancholic atmospheres meet a nervous tribal rhythm section.