diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 5165aa2..80a92ac 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -168,3 +168,4 @@ _version.py
 *.pickle
 hub/
 .vscode/settings.json
+*.swp
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3c29952..ef80cd7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 > [!CAUTION]
 > Please do not install from Pypi, the package there with the same name is not this one.
 > To install, run:
-> 
+>
 > `pip install git+https://github.com/ecmwf-lab/ai-models-aurora.git`
 
 # ai-models-aurora
@@ -22,5 +22,5 @@ The model weights are made available for use under the terms of the Creative Com
 > [!CAUTION]
 > Please do not install from Pypi, the package there with the same name is not this one.
 > To install, run:
-> 
+>
 > `pip install git+https://github.com/ecmwf-lab/ai-models-aurora.git`
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 102eb09..8ac0b21 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ dynamic = [
   "version",
 ]
 dependencies = [
-  "microsoft-aurora",
+  "microsoft-aurora>=1.1.0",
   "ai-models>=0.6.4"
 ]
 
diff --git a/src/ai_models_aurora/model.py b/src/ai_models_aurora/model.py
index 5e11198..f5cc039 100644
--- a/src/ai_models_aurora/model.py
+++ b/src/ai_models_aurora/model.py
@@ -51,8 +51,19 @@ def run(self):
 
         model = self.klass(use_lora=self.use_lora)
         model = model.to(self.device)
-        LOG.info("Downloading Aurora model %s", self.checkpoint)
-        model.load_checkpoint("microsoft/aurora", self.checkpoint, strict=False)
+
+        path = os.path.join(self.assets, os.path.basename(self.checkpoint))
+        if os.path.exists(path):
+            LOG.info("Loading Aurora model from %s", path)
+            model.load_checkpoint_local(path, strict=False)
+        else:
+            LOG.info("Downloading Aurora model %s", self.checkpoint)
+            try:
+                model.load_checkpoint("microsoft/aurora", self.checkpoint, strict=False)
+            except Exception:
+                LOG.error("Did not find a local copy at %s", path)
+                raise
+
         LOG.info("Loading Aurora model to device %s", self.device)
 
         model = model.to(self.device)