National Weather Service Travel Forecast - Experimental!

Winter will be upon us soon, and with that comes hazardous traveling conditions. We want you to be prepared and stay safe this winter so we are are testing a new webpage that will display our National Weather Service forecasts along South Dakota highways and interstates. Road segments are color coded based on forecast weather in 6 hour time intervals. Selecting a road segment provides detailed forecast information. The forecast is for planning purposes only and you should call 511 or navigate to www.safetravelusa.com/sd for current road conditions across South Dakota. This page is experimental so it is subject to change at any time. 

Ready to check it out? Go there directly by clicking on this link https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/wrh/travel/?wfo=sds&layer=2, or navigate to www.weather.gov/abr and find the link under Local Information or scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Travel Forecast.

Here are some quick instructions to get you started: 

1. Navigate To www.weather.gov/abr

2. Find the Travel Forecast Link

3. Navigate Through 6 Hour Time Blocks

4. Get Details Along Road Segments

5. Set Your Own Criteria

6. Get a Point to Point Forecast

7. Additional Help on This Page

1. Navigate to www.weather.gov/abr

Type www.weather.gov/abr into any webbrowser

2. Find The Travel Forecast Link

Find the Travel Forecast link by looking under the Local Information dropdown menu, or by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on Travel Forecast under the Weather Forecasts section

3. Navigate Through the 6 Hour Time Blocks 

Now that you are at the travel forecast page, you can see how the forecast is changing through time. Simply click on the 6 hour time blocks at the bottom of the page to see weather conditions for that time period.

4. Get Details Along Road Segments

Click on highway segments to get details about the forecast. You can also zoom in on the map to see additional highways.

5. Set Your Own Criteria

Use the left hand side menu to select "Criteria Customization". Use the slider bars to choose weather forecast variables based on values that are important to you. Click update! The colors of the road segments will adjust accordingly on the map.

6. Get a Point to Point Forecast

Use the left hand side menu to select "Navigation and Overlays". Enter your departure location and time, and your destination location. Click go! The map will zoom to the highways along your route, with the weather information included based on travel time. The point to point forecast is still in 6 hour periods, and will only display the currently selected time period for the estimated time that you will be traveling during that section. Sections of road that fall outside of that estimate will be grayed out.

7. Additional Help On This Page

Use the left hand side menu to select "Legend & Help". Click on common questions to see detailed answers.