Builds five and six of NOAA's NWS weather event simulator

Over the four years since its release, NOAA's NWS Weather Event Simulator's (WES) role has steadily expanded inside and outside the National Weather Service (NWS). NWS directives require every NWS forecaster to take two WES simulations per year for each significant weather season. In 2004 the WES played a significant role in the Warning Decision Training Branch's (WDTB) new evolution in training, the Advanced Warning Operations Course (AWOC). The WES was one of many distance learning approaches leveraged in AWOC to deliver advanced warning concepts directly to all NWS forecasters. In order to stay current with NWS operational needs, the WES has had to continually evolve with new developments in AWIPS. WES5.0 was released in August 2005 to include AWIPS OB5.0, featuring support for Terminal Doppler Weather Radar data, the new “Dig Digital Mesocyclone Detection” product, and significant improvements in static case review for the Flash Flood Monitoring and Prediction System (FFMP) and the System for Convection Analysis and Nowcasting (SCAN). With the establishment of a new FTP distribution system for WES5.0, NWS collaborative partners will now have easy access to the latest versions of the WES in concert with the NWS. Significant enhancements to WES are being developed to coincide with the AWIPS Operational Build 6.0 deployment in the Fall of 2005. This paper will document the recent advances and successes in WES up to and including WES6.0, which is currently in development.