P2.15
NOAA NWS OCWWS Training Program in Climate
Marina M. Timofeyeva, UCAR and NOAA/NWS, Silver Spring, MD; and K. Weickmann, M. Newman, D. Kann, E. O’Lenic, J. Adolphson, R. Livezey, and L. Spayd
NWS OCWWS Training and Climate Services Divisions are working to develop a training program in climate with scientific support provided by OAR CDC and NWS CPC. This program targets development of NWS field personnel professional competency in the area of understanding climate variability, its predictability and dissemination of climate products by local offices. The training program started as residence training in March 2002. The residence training is a one week long workshop that is being offered to NWS personnel twice a year in 2002 and 2003. Each workshop includes about twenty lectures, seven lab exercises and discussion sessions, and a field trip. The workshop focuses on discussion of climate phenomena and climate variability, regional aspects of climate forecasts, use of statistical and dynamical models for regional climate forecasts among other topics. The first workshop offered in March 2002 indicated that most students lack knowledge of statistical analysis, widely used in scientific community as climate analysis tools, as well as some advanced meteorological definitions. To help future students we are developing a Web Based primer that will be offered to students a month prior to the workshops and will include introduction on advanced statistical and meteorological terms. At the same time the Lab exercises are being developed to enhance closer ties with lectures and to ensure "hands on" exercises on climate analysis that could be easily used in the fields. The residence training lectures are being used to build distance learning training in the form of Web Casts. Besides the Web Casts, distance learning includes Web information on climate data and services, available and experimental climate products, their application, and historical climate data. Distance learning also includes series of tele-training exercises focused on application of specific climate products in the NWS field offices local forecasts.
Poster Session 2, University and Professional Initiatives
Monday, 10 February 2003, 2:30 PM-2:30 PM
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