Road and Air Temperature Readings from Seattle Sensor Stations

Sensor stations on Seattle bridges and streets record road surface and ambient air temperature every minute, with data averaged from second-by-second measurements. The dataset is updated hourly and retains only the most recent 48 hours of records. It is provided by the City of Seattle's open data portal.

Use Cases

• Correlate RoadSurfaceTemperature and AirTemperature to model frost or ice formation risk on specific road segments.
• Analyze temporal patterns in RoadSurfaceTemperature using the DateTime field for heat island studies.
• Map temperature variations by StationLocation to identify microclimates affecting road maintenance schedules.
• Monitor real-time temperature differentials between StationName points for traffic management systems.

Strengths

• Minute-level temporal resolution for detailed time-series analysis.
• Dual temperature measurements (RoadSurfaceTemperature and AirTemperature) per station.
• Hourly data updates provide near-real-time monitoring capability.

Limitations

• Limited historical depth, storing only the most recent 48 hours of data.
• Spatial coverage is restricted to sensor placements within Seattle city limits.
• Unknown total number of stations and rows limits assessment of data volume.

Provenance

Source

cos-data.seattle.gov

Collection Method

Derived from sensor stations on bridges and surface streets, with per-second measurements averaged into minute readings.

Time Range

Rolling 48-hour window.

Freshness

Updated hourly.

Geography

Bridges and surface streets within Seattle city limits.