H.R. 5089

Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2025

Sponsor: Frank D. Lucas

26 cosponsors
Follow this bill

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

Expand all

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

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

Sec. 504. National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network

(a) In general. The Under Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of the United States Geological Survey, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies and departments, shall support the development, deployment, and maintenance of soil moisture monitoring networks by managing the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network (in this section referred to as the Network) within the National Integrated Drought Information System.

(b) Activities. The Under Secretary shall ensure the Network includes activities that carry out the following:

(1) Establishing a visible, user-friendly website.

(2) Developing a set of criteria for high-quality data sources.

(3) Supporting research necessary to develop or improve soil moisture monitoring products at a national scale.

(4) Increasing the number of long-term, high-quality, in situ and remote sensing soil moisture monitoring stations across the United States.

(5) Sharing methodologies and validation protocols with the private sector.

(6) Engaging with the citizen science community.

(7) Developing, releasing, and promoting new, nationwide point-based and gridded soil moisture data products that meet the needs of diverse end-user groups.

(8) Supporting community building and outreach to the network of individuals engaged with soil moisture information delivery, from data provision to end-user decision making.