System for providing site-specific, real-time environmental condition information to vehicles and related methods

Abstract

A system for providing environmental condition information to remote users includes a computer system that obtains environmental data from a variety of sources and converts them into data that indicate presence of an environmental condition (including the strength, severity and form of a weather event), a distribution network in communication with the computer system, and one or more remote systems, which further comprise a receiver configured to receive distribution network signals and down convert them, and a remote computer system. The remote computer system is configured to receive the down-converted signals from the receiver and uses the data transmitted in the messages to determine whether the environmental conditions are geo-graphically relevant to the remote system based upon the geographic position of the remote system. The remote systems include a display systems which provide visual or aural alerts relating to weather phenomena, road conditions, road status or traffic.