H.R. 5089

Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2025

Sponsor: Frank D. Lucas

26 cosponsors
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2025 or the Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2025

This bill reauthorizes, revises, and establishes several programs related to weather forecasting, monitoring, and research. 

For example, the bill reauthorizes through FY2030 programs that are administered by the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including the U.S. Weather Research Program. It also provides statutory authority for NOAA's Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (known as VORTEX-USA).

The bill also requires NOAA to establish programs that support weather forecasting technology, including improvements to radar accuracy, weather forecasting in underserved areas, and coastal flooding forecasting. NOAA must also acquire weather-related data from the private sector and establish a pilot program to test the compatibility of this data with NOAA infrastructure. 

In addition, NOAA must improve weather-related communication systems, including those related to hazardous weather events, through system upgrades that use more modern technology (e.g., cloud-based services) and that allow for expanded coverage (e.g., in rural areas).

Finally, NOAA must administer programs that support weather forecasting for agricultural and water management, including pilot programs to improve precipitation forecasts in the western and central states and a soil moisture monitoring network. 

Text of the bill

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I Reauthorization of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017

Sec. 109. Earth prediction innovation center

Paragraph (5) of section 102(b) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8512(b)) is amended—

(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking and after the semicolon; and

(2) by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting the following new subparagraphs:

Text this section adds to the law

(E) developing community weather research modeling systems that—

(i) are accessible by the public in accordance with section 10601 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (15 U.S.C. 8512a) and available for archive and long-term study;

(ii) meet basic end-user requirements for running on public computers and networks located outside of secure National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration information and technology systems;

(iii) utilize, whenever appropriate and cost-effective, innovative strategies and methods, including cloud-based computing capabilities, for hosting and management of part or all of the system described in this subparagraph;

(iv) utilize modeling systems that allow for interoperability with new model components, modules, and next-generation software and coding languages;

(v) allow for open testing and integration of promising operational model improvements from the broader community;

(vi) access as close to a real-time basis as possible operational data and metadata, including commercially purchased data for use in Earth Prediction Innovation Center research and development testing grounds pursuant to redistribution restrictions, licensing agreements, and applicable existing laws and regulations; and

(vii) provide supported and portable versions of the unified forecast system, including applications for hurricane, space weather, ocean, cryosphere, air quality, and coastal models, that can reproduce current operational global and regional model prediction; and

(F) establishing a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Data Lake, to be maintained by the Administration, a commercial partner, or non-profit entity, that consolidates and maintains a publicly available and continuously updated collection of data and metadata used in numerical weather prediction for use in the Earth Prediction Innovation Center’s model testing, pursuant to redistribution restrictions, licensing agreements, and applicable existing laws and regulations.

II Enhancing Federal Weather Forecasting and Innovation

III Commercial Weather and Environmental Observations

IV Communicating Weather to the Public

V Improving Weather Information for Agriculture and Water Management