Weather detection for a vehicle environment

A weather detection system for a vehicle, comprising:

• a weather sensor configured to sense an environmental condition of a region external to the vehicle;
• an actuator for controlling a response to the environmental condition;
• a network interface configured to access weather data from a vehicle fleet;
• a user interface in the vehicle;
• a controller local to the vehicle in communication with the weather sensor and the actuator, wherein the controller is configured to control the actuator based on detection of an inoperable state of the weather sensor;
• and
• a server in communication with the controller configured to compare the weather data to the environmental condition and detect the inoperable state of the weather sensor based on the comparison,
• wherein the controller is selectively operable, via the user interface, between an event-driven mode, in which the controller reports the environmental condition to the vehicle fleet based on an identity of the environmental condition, and an operation-driven mode, in which the controller reports the environmental condition to the vehicle fleet during driving of the vehicle.

A weather detection system for a vehicle, comprising:

• a weather sensor configured to sense an environmental condition of a region external to the vehicle;
• an actuator for controlling a response to the environmental condition;
• a network interface configured to access weather data from a vehicle fleet;
• a GPS that tracks a position of the vehicle;
• a server that processes the position of the vehicle and the environmental condition to anonymize information from the vehicle provided to the vehicle fleet;
• a user interface in the vehicle;
• and
• control circuitry in communication with the weather sensor and the actuator and including a controller local to the vehicle, wherein the control circuitry is configured to:
• access the weather data via the network interface;
• compare the weather data to the environmental condition;
• detect an inoperable state of the weather sensor based on the comparison;
• control the actuator based on detection of the inoperable state;
• and
• selectively report the environmental condition to the vehicle fleet according to an input to the user interface,
• wherein the controller is selectively operable, via the user interface, between an event-driven mode, in which the controller communicates the environmental condition based on an identity of the environmental condition, and an operation-driven mode, in which the controller communicates the environmental condition during driving of the vehicle.