The FY23 version of the WOC Winter Track is now available. Additional content will likely be added to the curriculum over the next month or so. As a result, some users who show up as "Complete" for the curriculum may go back to being "Active" once that new content has been added. If you are a forecaster in your forecast office who wants to sign up for the next available WOC Winter, please complete the WOC Winter Registration Form. Note: You should coordinate with your local training facilitators (e.g., SOOs) before completing this form.
Warning Decision Training Division
Office of Chief Learning Officer
The FY23 version of the WOC Winter Track is now available. Additional content will likely be added to the curriculum over the next month or so. As a result, some users who show up as "Complete" for the curriculum may go back to being "Active" once that new content has been added. If you are a forecaster in your forecast office who wants to sign up for the next available WOC Winter, please complete the WOC Winter Registration Form. Note: You should coordinate with your local training facilitators (e.g., SOOs) before completing this form.
The Warning Operations Course (WOC) Winter Track is a course that consists of training on topics that are relevant to warning decision-making during winter weather events. There are 6 different instructional components in the Winter Track covering topics including conceptual models, forecasting hazards, and the forecast/warning process.
The WOC Winter Track is designed to allow every NWS Meteorologist with winter weather responsibilities to participate with the assistance of an on-site facilitator (SOO or locally appointed training officer). Each instructional component for NWS employees are tracked by the WOC on-site facilitator using the NWS Learning Center.
The WOC Winter Track is designed to improve the performance of NOAA’s NWS offices in issuing watches, warnings, and advisories during winter events.
Click on the panels below to access the content for each topic of the course. For most lessons, there will be two ways to access the training materials:
The lesson content is the same for each link. NWS employees enrolled in the WOC Winter Track should already have all of the WOC course content provided on their personal transcript. However, you can also use the LMS Version link to access the content and ensure you receive completion credit. NOAA users: Please refer to the for estimated lesson availability WOC Winter Orientation and Status Page for estimated lesson availability
Brief Description: This presentation provides a brief overview of the Winter WOC
Delivery Methods: Asynchronous instructor-led web modules
Approximate Completion Time: 15 minutes
Content:
Brief Description: This section contains lessons on synoptic and mesoscale conceptual models related to winter weather forecasting, including conveyor belts, frontogenesis, and potential vorticity.
Delivery Methods: Asynchronous instructor-led web modules
Approximate Completion Time: 90 minutes
Content:
Brief Description: This section contains lessons for forecasting specific hazards, including snowfall, sleet/freezing rain, determining precipitation type, visibility in snow, and severe winter winds.
Delivery Methods: Asynchronous instructor-led web modules
Approximate Completion Time: 3 hours
Content:
Brief Description: This section contains lessons on forecasting winter precipitation in regions near physiogeographic features, such as bodies of water and mountains.
Delivery Method: Asynchronous instructor-led web modules
Approximate Completion Time: 25 minutes
Content:
Brief Description: This section contains lessons for nowcasting winter weather, including snowfall and precipitation type, and radar-based nowcasting.
Delivery Method: Asynchronous instructor-led web modules
Approximate Completion Time: 1 hour
Content:
Brief Description: This section contains lessons on topics affecting winter weather warnings, including high-impact winter systems, Weather Prediction Center Winter Weather Desk operations, and NWS Hazard Simplification for winter weather.
Delivery Method: Asynchronous instructor-led web modules
Approximate Completion Time: 35 minutes
Content:
Brief Description: This section contains lessons about Winter climate forecasting and analysis.
Delivery Method: Asynchronous instructor-led web modules
Approximate Completion Time: ?? hours
Content:
Brief Description: This section contains lessons about communicating winter weather impacts associated with wind chill/extreme cold and surfaces.
Delivery Method: Asynchronous instructor-led web modules
Approximate Completion Time: 2 hours
Content:
Brief Description:Students will apply WOC Winter learning objectives in a warning decision making simulation.
Delivery Method: Weather Event Simulator 2 (WES-2)
Approximate Completion Time: 4 hours
Content:
Brief Description: This section contains the links to the forecast challenge website. Note: Only people with an NOAA-affiliated email can participate or access the site.
Brief Description: This section contains old-lessons and material.
Delivery Method: Asynchronous instructor-led web modules
Content:
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