During the Fall of 2001, all National Weather Service (NWS) offices received a Weather Event Simulator (WES). The WES is a low cost PC running the LINUX operating system, AWIPS display software, and a special set of scripts that hides and then reveals the data as if in real time. The simulator allows forecasters to practice issuing warnings while experiencing a sense of urgency as data continue to update. The NWS delivered one simulation event with the initial delivery of the WES, and subsequently added several additional events. WDTB and COMET developed simulation guides for several of the distributed cases. These guides provide training focal points with suggested training scenarios to facilitate implementation of the simulator. In addition, local offices have begun archiving their own events for both simulation and case study playback on the WES.

This paper will look at some of the various ways the WES has been used during its first year in field operation. Examples include: 1) Assisting the local office trainer in assessing training needs on both an office and individual level, 2) Using the WES and a data projector for displaying examples of techniques and scientific findings in office seminars, 3) Sharing expertise by pairing experts with novices in one-on-one training sessions, 4) Developing office strategies for warning operations, 5) Gaining experience on the use of impacts of newly deployed software, and 6) Performing post event assessments of locally archived events.