In 2022, the Village of Buffalo Grove started its IoT journey. At the 2022 Snow Conference in Pittsburgh, the team looked at various IoT technologies that could be deployed for the upcoming winter. This session will include a case study of Buffalo Grove’s experience after one entire winter season of use.

IoT, or the Internet of Things, is transforming numerous industries by allowing vast volumes of data to be collected, analyzed, and synthesized into meaningful information to drive multiple real-world processes. Winter maintenance operations are at the beginning of the IoT journey, but over the past five years, IoT has gained traction in our industry. One of the areas in winter maintenance where IoT technologies enable improved performance includes road weather observations and forecasting. One of the most significant limitations of atmospheric and road weather forecasting is a lack of observations. The advent of IoT-based road weather sensors from numerous providers helps close this gap and can revolutionize how snowfighters plan for and respond to winter weather events.