NOAA’s International Satellite Training Experiences with Forecasters and Students

Over the past year, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), along with its
Cooperative Institutes, and international partners pivoted from fully virtual in 2020 to various
scenarios of in-person, hybrid, and virtual satellite training and user engagement. The webinars,
short courses and workshops guide and train users to analyze and use a large variety of
satellite data and products for weather, climate, and environmental applications. The training
sessions were offered in English or Spanish covering GOES-R, JPSS and other satellite
capabilities, data access and data display, user applications across the atmosphere, land, and
ocean, and availability of online training resources. These sessions reached users in over 50
countries, including World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Regional Association (RA) III
(South America) and RA IV (North America, Central America and the Caribbean). The training
agendas also incorporated the operational application of satellite observations for topics such as
comparison of severe weather events, multi-hazard analyses of volcanic eruptions and ash
tracking, monitoring marine health such as pelagic sargassum and red tide, flood products, lake
products, tropical cyclogenesis and hurricane preparedness.

Surveys and direct feedback from participants and facilitators provide insight to develop relevant
agendas and content that are applicable to the host organization and region while supporting
the latest WMO guidelines of professional development for meteorological forecasters. The
presentation will also highlight the methods used and challenges posed by the various training
approaches, as well as new innovative approaches planned for the next year.