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. 104. Hurricane forecast improvement program

Section 104 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8514) is amended to read as follows:

Text this section adds to the law

104. Hurricane forecast improvement program

(a) In general. The Under Secretary, in collaboration with the United States weather industry and academic partners, shall maintain a program to improve hurricane forecasting, predictions, and warnings.

(b) Goal. The goal of the program under subsection (a) shall be to develop and extend accurate hurricane forecasts, predictions, and warnings in order to reduce the loss of life or property related to hurricanes, with a focus on the following:

(1) Improving the understanding and prediction of rapid intensity change and projected path of hurricanes, including probabilistic methods for hurricane hazard mapping.

(2) Improving the forecast and impact-based communication of inland flooding, compound flooding, and storm surges from hurricanes, in coordination with the program established under section 205 of the Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2025.

(3) Incorporating social, behavioral, risk, communication, and economic sciences to clearly inform response to prevent the loss of life or property, such as evacuation or shelter in place.

(4) Evaluating and incorporating, as appropriate, innovative observations, such as novel sensor technologies, observation tools or networks, crewed or uncrewed systems, and hosted instruments on commercial aircrafts, vessels, and satellites.

(c) Activities. The Under Secretary shall award grants for research, including relating to the following:

(1) Implementing key strategies and following priorities and objectives outlined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2019 report Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program.

(2) In coordination with the National Science and Technology Council’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Subcommittee and other relevant interagency committees, improving the social, behavioral, risk, communications, and economic sciences related to vulnerabilities, risk communication, and delivery of information critical for reducing the loss of life or property related to hurricanes.

(3) Improving the physical sciences, operational modeling, and tools related to hurricane formation, the impacts of wind and water-based hurricane hazards on the built and natural environment, and the interaction of hurricanes and tornadoes.

(d) Warnings. In carrying out subsection (a), the Under Secretary, in coordination with the program established under section 406, shall—

(1) conduct and transition to operations the research necessary to develop and deploy probabilistic weather forecast guidance technology relating to hurricanes and related weather phenomena;

(2) incorporate into hurricane modeling and forecasting, as appropriate, social, behavioral, risk, communication, and economic sciences research; and

(3) expand computational resources to support and improve higher-resolution operational modeling of hurricanes and related weather phenomena.

(e) Annual budget. The Under Secretary shall, not less frequently than annually, submit to Congress a proposed budget corresponding with carrying out this section.

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