A number of training resources geared mainly to CWSUs (but also useful for WFOs) have been developed to help forecasters better understand the National Airspace System (NAS) and the FAA. These resources include:

• Facilitator Guide ( If you have trouble playing it, you can open the PowerPoint version and read the notes that go with the slides, instead of listening to the audio.)
  • Each CWSU MIC (or his/her designated facilitator) should go through the Facilitator Guide to understand the objectives of the training, the various pieces involved (summarized below), and how these pieces fit together to produce the best training results.
• A computer-based learning module, The Impact of Weather on Air Traffic Management, available on CD (sent to CWSUs), online on the NWS Learning Management System, or on the COMET MetEd Website.
  • Topics covered include how the NAS is managed, the structure of the FAA, how weather impacts the NAS, and how those impacts are mitigated, as well as tips on giving an effective weather briefing.
  • Students can take the quiz on the NWS Learning Management System.
  • Also includes links to information-gathering activities (called Job Sheets; see the link from within the module) that will help in create your station's Weather Impact Playbook (WIP), a tactical operations guide that each CWSU will prepare.
• WIP Template: Each facilitator will customized the WIP Template for his/her office and area of responsibility and distribute copies (called WIP Worksheets) to all employees to complete while they go through the module. The facilitator will then compile the information from all of the Worksheets into a single WIP for the office.
• Example of a completed WIP for a fictional CWSU: Facilitators can use this sample as a guide for completing their WIP.
• Job Sheet Template
  • This template is provided so that each CWSU can create their own Job Sheets, if desired.

Contact For Other Questions about the WIP (MICs/Facilitators Only)

Dr. Chip West;
MIC Atlanta CWSU Office
Phone: 770-210-7871
Cell Phone: 770-309-1517
E-mail: chip.west@noaa.gov

Other Aviation-Related Training

• MetEd Aviation Training Web Page: Lists and provides links to all COMET training related to aviation
• Distance Learning Aviation Course 1 (DLAC1), Forecasting Fog/Low Stratus for Aviation Operations: A ~25 hour self-paced course consisting of 10 interactive modules and 10 quizzes. The course is available in the NWS LMS as the Learning Path called "NWS DLAC1: Forecasting Fog/Low Stratus for Aviation Operations." Modules in the course (which can also be taken individually) are:
  • Fog and Stratus Forecast Approaches
  • Radiation Fog
  • West Coast Fog Module (optional)
  • Synoptic Weather Considerations: Forecasting Fog and Low Stratus
  • Local Influences on Fog and Low Stratus
  • Assessing Climatology in Fog/Stratus Forecasting
  • Applying Diagnostic and Forecast Tools
  • Case Study: A New England Fog Event
  • Customer Impacts: Forecasting Fog and Low Stratus
  • Writing Effective TAFs
  • Case Study: Northern Plains Cold-Air Outbreak Event
• Forecasting Aviation Icing: Icing Type and Severity: Discusses the current theories of atmospheric conditions associated with aircraft icing and applies the theories to the icing diagnosis and forecast process.
• Icing Assessment Using Observations and Pilot Reports: Teaches how to assess surface observations, upper-air charts, and pilot reports (PIREPs) in order to diagnose the aviation icing environment.
• Icing Assessment Using Soundings and Wind Profiles: Teaches how to assess vertical profiles of wind, temperature, dewpoint, and frost point in order to diagnose airmass characteristics, cloud layers, and possible aviation icing layers. Requires use of the companion CD-ROM called "The Icing Event of 6 March 1996."