Department of Transportation officials on both federal and state levels have introduced a new system that will offer access to weather-related information via the Internet.

Federal Highway Administrator Kenneth R. Wykle and Iowa Department of Transportation Director Mark Wandro recently introduced "FORETELL," an innovative Intelligent Transportation Systems technology.
"FORETELL will provide our state and local transportation partners the ability to detect changing road conditions rapidly, giving them more time to respond to winter weather problems," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater.
The FHWA, along with the Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin DOTs and a private partner, Castle Rock Services, funded the new service.
FORETELL will include data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations’ National Weather Service and Environment Canada, combined with information from road sensors and other collection devices.
Officials say the system will be used by truckers, commuters, long-distance travelers, transit operators, radio stations and other media outlets.