Environmental conditions can have a major influence on the performance of a pavement marking material. The effect of environmental conditions on performance can be broken in two separate categories:

The weather conditions when the marking is placed are often said to be one of the most influential factors in the performance of the marking. This is especially true for environmentally sensitive materials such as thermoplastics and tapes. Factors that should be considered include:

Each of the above factors may affect marking performance. Air and pavement temperatures are important because most pavement marking materials require a minimum temperature for proper drying or curing. Humidity also affects the drying and curing times. Wind velocity affects drying times, but more importantly it affects the drop-on bead dispersion. Strong winds can prevent a high percentage of the drop-on beads from uniformly reaching the binder material. Pavement surface moisture at the time of application can have a severe effect on the bonding capabilities of the marking material to the pavement surface. Most materials require that the pavement surface be devoid of surface moisture prior to application to achieve bonding (see TxDOT Specification Item 4.2).

Year-round climatic conditions can also affect the long-term performance of a pavement marking material. Regions that receive heavy snowfall are often exposed to heavy abrasion on their pavement markings due to snowplow, sanding, and chemical activity. States in sun-belt regions may experience color fading and cracking of certain pavement marking materials due to intense ultraviolet exposure.