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

II Enhancing Federal Weather Forecasting and Innovation

Sec. 201. Weather innovation for the next generation

(a) In general. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall establish a Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Program (in this section referred to as the Program) to ensure the continued performance of weather radar capabilities, including systems currently being developed, with interferences in the line of sight of such radar.

(b) Requirements. In carrying out the Program, the Under Secretary, in consultation with the Interagency Council for Advancing Meteorological Services, shall—

(1) partner with the private sector, academia, Federal, State, and local government entities, and any other entity the Under Secretary considers appropriate;

(2) identify, evaluate, and test existing or near-commercial technologies and solutions that improve radar coverage and performance, including by mitigating the potential impact of interferences on weather radar;

(3) to the maximum extent practicable, research additional solutions that could mitigate the effects of interferences on weather radar, such as—

(A) signal processing algorithms;

(B) short-term forecasting algorithms to replace contaminated data;

(C) the use of dual polarization characteristics in mitigating the effects of wind turbines on weather radar; and

(D) gap filling radars to provide supplemental or replacement observations in impacted areas; and

(4) develop, support, or partner with developers to provide commercially viable technical mitigation solutions for interferences to weather radar capabilities that are compatible with the operational requirements of the weather radar systems.

(c) Priority. In carrying out subsection (b), the Under Secretary shall prioritize consideration of the following technology-based mitigation solutions:

(1) Phased array weather radar systems.

(2) Supplementing or replacing contaminated data with commercial radar data.

(3) The utilization of data from private sector associated meteorological towers or similar capabilities.

(4) The display on local forecasting equipment of wind farm boundaries and consolidated wind farm areas.

(5) The installation and provision of access to rain gauges.

(6) Any other technology-based mitigation solution the Under Secretary determines could improve radar coverage by overcoming interferences, beam blockage, or ghost echoes.

(d) Report; recommendation

(1) In general. Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter until the Program terminates pursuant to subsection (e), the Under Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation of the Program, including an evaluation of each technology-based mitigation solution identified for priority consideration pursuant to subsection (c), and a recommendation regarding additional identification and testing of new technologies based on such consideration.

(2) Final recommendation. Not later than five years after the date of the enactment of this section, the Under Secretary shall provide to Congress a recommendation on whether additional research, testing, and development through the Program established under subsection (a) is needed, and a determination of whether a cessation of field research, testing, development and evaluation is appropriate.

(e) Termination. The authority of the Under Secretary to carry out the Program shall terminate on the earlier of—

(1) September 30, 2030; or

(2) one year after the date on which the final recommendation required under subsection (d)(2) is submitted by the Under Secretary.

(f) Definitions. In this section:

(1) Beam blockage. The term beam blockage means a signal that is partially or fully blocked due to an interference.

(2) Ghost echo. The term ghost echo means radar signal reflectivity or velocity return errors in radar data due to the proximity of an interference.

(3) Interference. The term interference includes the following:

(A) a wind turbine that could limit the effectiveness of a weather radar system;

(B) any building that disrupts or limits the effectiveness of a weather radar system; or

(C) any other natural or human built structure that affects a weather radar system.

III Commercial Weather and Environmental Observations

IV Communicating Weather to the Public

V Improving Weather Information for Agriculture and Water Management