How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Report 882: How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways documents the meteorological effects on roadway noise propagation under different atmospheric conditions. Highway noise changes from day to day and hour to hour—not just because of variations in traffic volumes, vehicle mix, and speed, but also because of the weather. The report develops guidance to identify when atmospheric conditions should or should not be considered in noise analyses.

The report is accompanied a PowerPoint presentation and a tool called the AERMET sound speed profile calculator. The report also includes a brochure designed to communicate the concepts of the research to non-technical audiences. The brochure is made available in MSWord format to enable customization and the ability to insert an official logo and contact information. An Interactive Tool is also available for download. The interactive tool includes audio files that allow the user to hear differences in highway noise under various meteorological conditions.

Disclaimer: This software is offered as is, without warranty or promise of support of any kind either expressed or implied. Under no circumstance will the National Academy of Sciences or the Transportation Research Board (collectively "TRB") be liable for any loss or damage caused by the installation or operation of this product. TRB makes no representation or warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, including without limitation, the warranty of merchantability or the warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, and shall not in any case be liable for any consequential or special damages.

Original data used to develop NCHRP Research Report 882 are available upon request. Send requests via email to Ann Hartell, ahartell@nas.edu, and include a short explanation of the intended use of the data (for example, name of research project, research sponsor, affiliation and location of research team, and general plan for publication of results).