Integrated Sensor Training in the National Weather Service AWIPS Era

The National Weather Service (NWS) training program has undergone several changes as new systems for remote sensing and analysis workstations have been deployed. One of the most dramatic changes has been in the area of satellite data utilization and new satellite products. Given the extent of modernized data and the very large volume of derived products from remote sensors, the Integrated Sensor Training (IST) Professional Development Series is directed at the efforts to combine information useful to forecasters throughout the range of space and time scales in the forecast funnel.

Initial training sessions have been developed to be more flexible in availability and scheduling, brief (about an hour) but with specific educational targets, and centered around operationally-available data sets and issues. Feedback has been very favorable on the length and topics addressed. To the extent possible, the training sessions attempt to provide some background in addition to examining a case study.

Highlights from existing training sessions and a first look at new training being developed will be shown. Significant interaction with NWS Warning and Forecast Offices (WFOs) takes place during the development of these training sessions and we look forward to continuing those interactions. The IST team is also looking to help coordinate training developed at WFOs and assist in distance learning efforts. The software used for the teletraining version of these presentations is evolving to meet the needs of the integrated sensor environent. Finally, a new lesson builder is currently being beta-tested. It allows virtually anyone to assemble a training session and conduct it both locally and/or via distance-learning.