A First of its Kind: Creating a Weather Event Simulator (WES) Case Focused on the Human Element of Warning Decision Making

The National Weather Service (NWS) Warning Operations Course (WOC) Human Factors, delivered by NWS’s Warning Decision Training Division (WDTD), provides instruction on the human element of warning decision making, and is intended for all NWS meteorologists and hydrologists. The course includes 9-10 hours of recorded training modules, including lessons covering the warning thought process, individuals and teams in WFO warning operations, engaging with partners and the public, and tools for learning and growth from experience, and new this year, WDTD has included a simulation as part of the course.

The new Human Factors simulation is the first-of-its-kind displaced-real-time simulation of a severe convective event focused on the Human Factors elements learned in this course, and it is the newest WES case provided by WDTD. This WES simulation is unique as the content does not focus on the meteorological phenomena, but rather focuses on the humans in the warning process and how they interact with each other, their partners, and the public. The simulation uses data from the July 5th, 2022 derecho event which took place in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota CWA during the evening hours. The meteorological aspects of the Sioux Falls derecho were unusual and proved to be challenging to warn on. This in turn meant communication and collaboration was key to properly addressing and disseminating the wind threat to the public. The case focuses on training concepts such as: maintaining situational awareness, coordinating with neighboring county warning areas (CWAs), recognizing and overcoming cognitive biases when making warning decisions, addressing tornado risk and vulnerable populations, risk communication, effective warning strategies, and many more communication based topics. The simulation is intended to be used as a hands-on training tool allowing forecasters to apply the skills and tools necessary to address the human behind the warning process as they navigate a convective severe weather event.