S. 3923
Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026
Official summary
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Text of the bill
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
Section 301 of the Coordinated Ocean Observations and Research Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 10371) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) in paragraph (1)(A)—
(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting , within the Office of Water Prediction of the National Weather Service, after shall establish;
(ii) in clause (i), by striking and after the semicolon;
(iii) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting ; and; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following new clause:
(iii) to lead the transition of water research by the Federal Government, including model development, into operations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service.
(B) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following:
(F) Serving as the primary center within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for research, development, collaboration, and coordination of the water research and forecast activities of the Administration and other centers and networks of the Federal Government, including those of the Department of Agriculture, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the United States Geological Survey, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(G) Integrating and promoting consistency among national and regional hydrological forecast operations and service delivery.
; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
(3) Incorporation into unified forecast system. The Under Secretary shall use the Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System, or any successor system, to support the development and implementation of advanced water resources modeling capabilities under paragraph (2)(B) and shall incorporate those modeling capabilities into the unified forecast system.
(2) by striking subsection (b);
(3) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsections (b);
(4) by inserting after subsection (b), as redesignated by paragraph (3), the following:
(c) Organization and administration. The Under Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of Water Prediction of the National Weather Service, shall—
(1) supervise and oversee the administration, management, and operations of each River Forecast Center of the National Weather Service and coordinate those operations with the National Water Center; and
(2) administer the duties and activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration related to the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology, or any successor entity, and coordinate the activities of the Institute with the National Water Center.
; and
(5) in subsection (d)(4), by inserting before the period the following: and each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
VI Harmful algal bloom and hypoxia research and control
VII Fire ready Nation
VIII Precipitation estimates and landslide preparedness
IX Importation of red snapper
X Improving cybersecurity and telecommunications for oceanic research
XI Other authorities
XII Integrated Ocean Observation System Reauthorization Act of 2026