Consideration for Climate in CalME

Pavement behaviors are affected by climate conditions such as temperature, solar radiation, precipitation/moisture, water table, and freezing/thawing. Currently CalME only accounts for the effects of pavement temperature. This is believed to be sufficient for the majority of conditions in California. Note that any factors not explicitly considered in CalME is accounted for through the field calibration process.

For pavement design, the California highway network is divided into 9 climate zones. Pavements in each climate zone are subjected to the same climate condition.