News & Announcements

• NWSTC announces the publication of Introduction to GFE, 1st edition. The target audience for this 1-hour module is new users of GFE. To access this module in the NWS Learning Center, click here. (09/13/12)
  
  



• NWSTC announces the publication of Using GFE in the Forecast Process, 1st edition. The target audience for this 4-hour module is new GFE users, or current GFE users in need of a refresher of basic GFE functions. To access this module in the NWS Learning Center, click here. (09/13/12)
  
  



• COMET has published a new module titled Satellite Feature Identification: Cyclogenesis. This less than 1-hour module guides the learner through basic concepts for using water vapor satellite imagery to identify conditions that make extratropical cyclogenesis possible and to recognize cyclogenesis once it has begun. To access this module in the NWS Learning Center, click here. (09/13/12)
  
  



• COMET has announced the publication of three short climate change modules. The topics of Regional Impacts, Extreme Weather, and Sea Level Rise are covered as they relate to climate change. The modules should be of particular interest to broadcast meteorologists, although operational forecasters and the general public interested in climate change will also find them useful. To access these modules in the NWS Learning Center, see the August section of the New NWS Training Page. (08/30/12)
  
  



• VISIT has announced their schedule of live teletraining sessions through September 2012, when a new session on Synthetic Imagery in Forecasting Cyclogenesis will be offered on the 25th, 26th and 28th. The next VISIT Satellite Chat will be held Wednesday, September 12th, and will focus on real-time significant weather events. All VISIT teletraining is listed on the Training Events Planning Calendar. (08/27/12)
  
  



• The NWS Learning Center, part of the Commerce Learning Center, has a fresh new look since early June! Some enhancements include intuitive drop-down navigation menus, advertisement rotators highlighting featured training, and multiple ways to find the training you need plus lots of information to help with your training. (08/21/12)
  
  



• WDTB has released the second module in the course Communicating Risks in High Impact Events.  Module 2, Tools for Risk Management Support to Stakeholders, addresses how to gather information from stakeholders to better meet the mission of IDSS. More information on Module 2, and the course as a whole, can be found at: http://www.wdtb.noaa.gov/courses/risk-comms/index.html. (06/01/12)
  
  



• Solar Maximum in 2013 brings a higher level of interest in space weather. In preparation for more public inquiries, the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) and NWSTC have released “Handling Space Weather Inquiries” in the NWS Learning Management System (LMS).This course readies WFO forecasters by providing a basic space weather overview, fundamentals of SPWC products and alerts, and training on providing answers to our customers. (06/01/12)
  
  



• 2012 Tropical Training for forecasters as well as for ITOs/GFE focal points is now available. Please visit the NWS Learning Center's Tropical Training Page for details. (05/03/12)
  
  



• WDTB has designed a new course on Communicating Risks in High-Impact Events.  Module 1 has been published to the NWS Learning Center: Search for "Crisis Communications Module 1" (Use Exact Search).
  Module 1 addresses the growing need due to Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS) for improved communication with our Core Partners. Module 1 provides a description of the crisis communication cycle model and uses actual stories of IDSS that the NWS provided during 2010-11. These stories include well-known events such as the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill and the Enbridge Oil Spill in Michigan. Module 1 contains a Quiz that provides completion basis for that module in the Learning Center. The duration for Module 1 is 2.5 hours. Module 2 of the Course (due out later in April)  contains methods of getting stakeholder information useful for IDSS. The intended audience for Communicating Risks in High-Impact Events is all NWS staff who will be providing communication to Core partners to support various types of IDSS activities. The WDTB Course web site contains all useful information for implementation this training. (Brad Grant - POC). (03/22/12)



• WDTB has released an updated version of the "Dual-Polarization Radar Training for NWS Partners" course.  This training, updated with lesson learned from the WSR-88D dual-polarization upgrade beta-test, has two different tracks: One for meteorologists not employed by the National Weather Service and one for non-meteorologists who use WSR-88D radar data regularly to perform their job duties.  More information on this course can be found at:  http://www.wdtb.noaa.gov/courses/dualpol/Outreach/index.html. (09/30/11)
  
  



• WDTB has published 3 RPG-based modules that complete the Dual-Polarization Radar Operations Course.  The new modules are focused on RPG System Operations and new RPG Dual-Polarization algorithms.  More information on these lessons and the Dual-Polarization Radar Operations Course can be found at: http://www.wdtb.noaa.gov/courses/dualpol/. (05/16/11)
  
  



• The Dual-Polarization Radar Operations Course and the Dual-Polarization Radar Principles and System Operations Course are now available from WDTB.