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Title II — Enhancing Federal weather forecasting and innovation

S. 3923 · 119th Congress · Feb 25, 2026 · Lineage

II Enhancing Federal weather forecasting and innovation

Sec. 201 Next-generation numerical weather prediction initiative

(a)
In general— The Under Secretary may establish a long-term, agency-wide initiative to focus and align numerical weather prediction activities around a shared strategic vision for the future to further protect lives and property, enhance the national economy, and promote international leadership.
(b)
Initiative goals— An initiative under subsection (a) shall encourage physics-based and data-driven modeling approaches, the use of ensemble systems, continuous and collaborative model development, and the modernization of modeling infrastructure and software practices.
(c)
Activities— In carrying out an initiative under subsection (a), the Under Secretary should seek to—
(1)
enhance forecast accuracy, efficiency, and interpretability;
(2)
leverage innovation from the broader weather enterprise;
(3)
use advanced computing technologies and observational data;
(4)
periodically evaluate existing modeling systems to ensure resources are focused on the most capable and impactful forecast solutions while maintaining operational continuity; and
(5)
explore artificial intelligence-based modeling capabilities and related training data needs.

Sec. 202 Radar Next Program

(a)
In general— The Under Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the National Weather Service, shall establish a program to be known as the “Radar Next Program” (in this section referred to as the “program”).
(b)
Requirements— In carrying out the program, the Under Secretary shall—
(1)
develop performance and coverage requirements for the weather radar network of the United States, including for the territories of the United States;
(2)
collaborate with the weather enterprise to determine potential solutions to update the weather radar network of the United States that meet the requirements developed under paragraph (1); and
(3)
develop a plan in accordance with subsection (c).
(c)
Plan—
(1)
In general— The Under Secretary shall develop a plan to replace the Next Generation Weather Radar system of the National Weather Service in existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act (in this subsection referred to as the “NEXRAD system”).
(2)
Elements— The plan developed under this subsection shall seek to continue and improve weather radar coverage in the United States and its territories and include the following:
(A)
Estimates of quantifiable improvements in performance, coverage, and accuracy to be made from potential options for replacement of the NEXRAD system.
(B)
Development of a phased array radar to test and determine the specifications and requirements for such replacement.
(C)
Expected actions needed to implement the recommendations of the report published by the Environmental Information Services Working Group of the Science Advisory Board of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on November 15, 2023, and entitled “A NESDIS Observing System Backbone Framework” to assist in defining a radar backbone architecture that will best serve the United States.
(D)
Establishment of a weather surveillance radar testbed for the following:
(i)
Evaluation of commercial radars with the potential to replace or supplement the NEXRAD system.
(ii)
Providing technical assistance for the use of small, gap-filling radars with private and local partners in regions where geographical topography prevents the full use of large systems or in locations where such systems may not be commercially viable.
(E)
Consultation and input solicited from academia, meteorologists, emergency managers, and public safety or utility officials regarding the specifications and requirements for replacement of the NEXRAD system.
(F)
Prioritized locations for initial deployment of the system that will replace the NEXRAD system.
(G)
Expected locations of the system that will replace the NEXRAD system, including sites located more than 75 miles away from an existing NEXRAD system station and additional appropriate locations.
(H)
Expected or planned improvements to data available for weather and water-related forecasts and warnings from the system that will replace the NEXRAD system.
(3)
Procurement deadline— The Under Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure the plan developed under this subsection is fully implemented and executed by not later than September 30, 2040.
(d)
Radar-as-a-Service—
(1)
In general— The Under Secretary may partner or contract with entities outside of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fill data gaps in weather radar coverage using weather radars and data assimilation technologies in order to—
(A)
supplement data gaps in weather radar coverage, including at low levels and in wide areas, in existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act;
(B)
ensure the continued performance of the weather radar network of the United States; and
(C)
better detect significant precipitation and severe weather over a greater area across a population.
(2)
Considerations— In carrying out paragraph (1), the Under Secretary may consider—
(A)
partnering or contracting with entities that have participated in the testbed described in subsection (c)(2)(D), the National Mesonet Program, or cooperative research and development agreements; and
(B)
weather camera systems and services, including in consultation with the Federal Aviation Administration, as viable technologies to supplement weather forecasting and prediction needs.
(e)
Updates to Congress— The Under Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives periodic updates on the implementation of this section.

Sec. 203 Data voids in under observed areas of the United States

(a)
In general— The Under Secretary shall carry out activities to ensure comprehensive weather observation coverage, impact-based decision support services, and emergency information sharing in the United States, including the following:
(1)
Identifying regions in the United States and the territories of the United States that are under observed, and as a result, have data gaps or experience disproportionate impacts from hazardous weather that threatens human life, health, and property.
(2)
Identifying any challenges that contribute to the lack of weather observations under paragraph (1).
(3)
Increasing weather observations and developing new weather observational capabilities with respect to the regions identified under paragraph (1).
(4)
Establishing or supporting testbeds and deployments of decision support services to Federal, State, and local emergency operations centers to develop and integrate new weather, water, and climate observation or emergency information sharing tools, with respect to the regions identified under paragraph (1).
(5)
To the maximum extent practicable, advancing weather and water forecasting and subseasonal to seasonal modeling capabilities for the regions identified under paragraph (1).
(6)
Undertaking workforce development efforts for emergency management officials and meteorologists in the regions identified under paragraph (1).
(7)
Using observations to fill voids in data and better understand extreme rainfall in complex topography.
(8)
Contributing to a national integrated heat health information system.
(b)
Consultation; coordination— The Under Secretary shall carry out activities under subsection (a)—
(1)
in coordination with the Director of the National Weather Service and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
(2)
in consultation with the United States weather industry and academic partners; and
(3)
in accordance with activities implemented through existing regional atmospheric, coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes observing systems.
(c)
Interagency partnership To support pilot projects—
(1)
In general— In carrying out this section, the Under Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Weather Service and in collaboration with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall establish an interagency partnership to support pilot projects that accelerate coordination and use of localized weather, water, and subseasonal to seasonal data and impact-based decision support services in infrastructure and emergency management decisions by Federal, State, and local officials.
(2)
Priority— At least one pilot project under paragraph (1) shall address key science challenges to using mesonet data in local decision making and development of new tools and training for owners and operators of critical infrastructure (as defined in subsection (e) of the Critical Infrastructures Protection Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c)), such as dams, energy generation and distribution facilities, nuclear power plants, and transportation networks.

Sec. 204 Atmospheric rivers forecast improvement program

(a)
In general— The Under Secretary, in collaboration with the United States weather industry and academic partners and in coordination with the precipitation forecast improvement program under section 603 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017, as added by section 115 of this Act, shall establish an atmospheric river forecast improvement program (in this section referred to as the “program”).
(b)
Goal— The goal of the program shall be to reduce the loss of life and property and economic losses from atmospheric rivers through the research, development, and extension of accurate, effective, and actionable forecasts and warnings, including by—
(1)
establishing skill metrics for atmospheric river forecasts that include assessing the benefits of dynamical modeling, data assimilation, and machine learning improvements in the probabilistic forecasts of landfall location, extreme wind and precipitation, and cascading impacts;
(2)
developing an atmospheric river forecast system within a unified forecast system, and advancing next-generation coupled modeling systems, with the capability of providing seasonal to short-range atmospheric river forecasts that include forecasts of snow accumulation and other hydrologic components;
(3)
advancing scientific understanding of the roles of atmospheric rivers in subseasonal to seasonal precipitation and probabilistic predictions at subseasonal to seasonal scales;
(4)
developing tools and improved forecast products to predict periods of active or inactive atmospheric river landfalls and inland penetration over the United States with a focus on addressing stakeholder and public needs related to perceiving, comprehending, and responding to atmospheric river forecast improvements;
(5)
enhancing the transition of research to operations through testbeds of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the evaluation of physical and social science, technology, and other research to develop products and services for implementation and use by relevant stakeholders; and
(6)
incorporating social, behavioral, and economic sciences into atmospheric river modeling and forecasting, as appropriate.
(c)
Innovative observations, data assimilation, and modeling— The Under Secretary shall ensure the program periodically examines, tests, and evaluates the value of incorporating innovative observations, data, and measurements with respect to the improvement of atmospheric river analysis, modeling, forecasts, predictions, and warnings.
(d)
Program plan— Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Air Force or the Commander of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron of the Air Force Reserve Command, shall develop a plan that details the specific activities relating to research, development, data acquisition, partnerships with the weather industry and academic partners, and technology transfer, and corresponding resources and timelines, necessary to achieve the goal of the program under subsection (b). Such plan shall be made available to the public on release.
(e)
Annual budget for plan submittal— After the development of the plan pursuant to subsection (d), the Under Secretary shall submit to Congress, with the budget of the President submitted under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for a fiscal year, a proposed budget for the activities identified in such plan for that fiscal year.
(f)
Improved modeling— In carrying out the program, the Under Secretary may—
(1)
develop, test, and operationalize prototype high-resolution Atmospheric River Analysis and Forecasting System models through research and operations partnerships with institutions of higher education and other partners outside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
(2)
enhance data assimilation of current and new satellite and ocean observations that is useful for atmospheric river analysis and forecasting predictions;
(3)
improve data processing techniques related to atmospheric river analysis and forecasting predictions;
(4)
use artificial intelligence and machine learning methods as applicable to atmospheric river analysis and forecasting predictions;
(5)
ensure the surface and subsurface observations of the ocean meet the needs of atmospheric river analysis and forecasting predictions on different timescales; and
(6)
to the maximum extent practicable, improve or establish baseline weather monitoring services in areas that have historically experienced, or are predicted to experience, atmospheric rivers.
(g)
Conduct of reconnaissance— The Under Secretary shall acquire and sustain adequate aircraft, scientific equipment, and personnel—
(1)
to meet mission requirements of the National Hurricane Operations Plan and the National Winter Season Operations plan;
(2)
to ensure atmospheric river air reconnaissance observations are available throughout the expected seasons of tropical cyclones and atmospheric rivers;
(3)
to the maximum extent practicable and in accordance with paragraph (5), to ensure data and information collected are made available for research and operations purposes;
(4)
to participate in research and operations partnerships that guide flight planning and use research methods to improve and expand the capabilities and effectiveness of atmospheric river reconnaissance over time;
(5)
to develop data management strategies to ensure that data and metadata are adequately stewarded, maintained, and archived; and
(6)
to undertake such other additional activities as the Under Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Air Force, considers appropriate to improve and grow the hurricane hunter and atmospheric river reconnaissance mission.
(h)
Improved atmospheric river hazard communication— The Under Secretary may conduct research and development activities in coordination with the program established under section 403(a)—
(1)
to, as appropriate, develop and refine—
(A)
methods to categorize the intensity of weather and oceans hazards, including tropical cyclones and atmospheric rivers, on a quantitative scale; and
(B)
the effectiveness of such scale in hazard communication;
(2)
to develop best practices for communication of atmospheric river events and hazards across regions of the United States;
(3)
to gather information from areas prone to hurricanes and atmospheric rivers regarding levels of knowledge and preparedness, including responses to early forecasts and warnings by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and
(4)
to explore strategies to communicate, and the effectiveness of communicating, that hurricane and atmospheric river events are beneficial at lower intensities versus hazardous at higher intensity.

Sec. 205 Coastal flooding and storm surge forecast improvement program

(a)
In general— The Under Secretary, in collaboration with the United States weather industry and academic partners, shall establish a coastal flooding and storm surge forecast improvement program (in this section referred to as the “program”).
(b)
Goal— The goal of the program shall be to reduce the loss of life or property from coastal flooding, including high tide flooding, and storm surge events through the development and extension of accurate, effective, actionable, and probable forecasts and warnings.
(c)
Priority— In implementing the program, the Under Secretary shall prioritize activities that carry out the following:
(1)
Improving understanding and capacity for real-time operational prediction of the ocean’s role in coastal flooding, including high tide flooding, and storm surge events.
(2)
Improving the capacity to mitigate, adapt to, or prevent the impacts of coastal flooding, including high tide flooding, and storm surge events, including by improving the understanding of coastal communities and the capacity of such communities to perceive, comprehend, and respond to forecast information.
(3)
Incorporating data from in situ distributed sensors into predictive models and re-analyses.
(4)
Developing probabilistic coastal flooding, including high tide flooding, and storm surge estimates to complement worst-case scenario estimates, including for use in long-term planning and risk management by States, Tribal governments, localities, and emergency managers in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as appropriate.
(5)
Establishing skill metrics for coastal inundation forecasting that quantify the benefits of dynamical modeling, data assimilation, and machine learning improvements in the probabilistic forecast of coastal flooding, including high tide flooding, and storm surge risk and impacts.
(6)
Improving operational regional storm surge models and, in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey, wave prediction models to enhance probabilistic guidance and messaging.
(d)
Innovative observations and modeling— The Under Secretary shall ensure the program periodically examines, tests, and evaluates the value of incorporating enhanced model physics, hybrid dynamical or machine learning-based prediction systems, and innovative observations, such as novel sensor technologies, observation networks, crewed or uncrewed systems, and hosted instruments on commercial aircrafts, vessels, and satellites, with respect to the improvement of coastal flooding, including high tide flooding, and storm surge forecasts, predictions, and warnings.
(e)
Program plan— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall develop a plan that details the specific research, development, data acquisition, and technology transfer activities, and corresponding resources and timelines, necessary to achieve the goal of the program under subsection (b).
(f)
Annual budget for plan submittal— After the development of the plan pursuant to subsection (e), the Under Secretary shall submit to Congress, with the budget of the President submitted under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for a fiscal year, a proposed budget for the activities identified in that plan for that fiscal year.

Sec. 206 National Integrated Heat Health Information System

(a)
National Integrated Heat Health Information System—
(1)
Establishment— The Under Secretary shall establish within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a system, to be known as the “National Integrated Heat Health Information System” (in this section referred to as the “System”).
(2)
Purpose— The purpose of the System is to reduce heat-related impacts by—
(A)
improving the delivery of data, information, forecasts, and warnings related to temperature and extreme heat and related impacts;
(B)
developing science-based solutions and tools to improve impact-based decision support services for heat impacts to human life, property, and the United States economy; and
(C)
supporting a research program on heat health, in coordination with the agencies represented on the National Integrated Heat Health Information System Interagency Committee.
(b)
National Integrated Heat Health Information System Interagency Committee—
(1)
Establishment of committee— There is established within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration an interagency committee, to be known as the “National Integrated Heat Health Information System Interagency Committee” (in this section referred to as the “Committee”).
(2)
Purpose— The Committee shall coordinate relevant agencies to execute, as appropriate, activities across such agencies to ensure a united Federal approach to reducing health risks from heat.
(c)
Authorization of appropriations— There is authorized to be appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out this section, including for any administrative costs for the Committee and the System, $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.

Sec. 207 Aviation weather and data innovation

(a)
Airborne observation program—
(1)
In general— The Under Secretary shall maintain an airborne observation program (in this subsection referred to as the “program”) for the acquisition of atmospheric sensor data and the deployment of critical atmospheric sensors, including in partnership with the weather enterprise.
(2)
Activities— The program shall include activities that carry out the following:
(A)
Procurement of weather data available from commercial aircraft, as determined by the Under Secretary.
(B)
Acquisition of additional vertical profile observations that provide spatial and temporal density, as determined by the Under Secretary.
(C)
Analysis of procured data when incorporated into the unified forecast system of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in order to provide improved forecast information for aircraft.
(3)
Budget— The Under Secretary shall submit to Congress, with the budget of the President submitted under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for a fiscal year, a proposed budget for the activities described in paragraph (2) for that fiscal year, including and analysis of activities that can be complemented by aircraft of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(4)
Authorization of appropriations— There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out the program.
(b)
Aviation weather and turbulence forecasting—
(1)
In general— The Director of the National Weather Service shall—
(A)
include turbulence events, icing conditions, or other phenomena in the forecasting capabilities of the Aviation Weather Center and the Center Weather Service Units; and
(B)
deliver operational forecasts with consistent, timely, and accurate weather and turbulence information for the airspace system and the protection of lives and property.
(2)
Coordination— In carrying out paragraph (1), the Director of the National Weather Service shall—
(A)
give consideration to recommendations of the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration under section 44720 of title 49, United States Code; and
(B)
improve weather and turbulence forecasting capabilities by—
(i)
designating or establishing within the Federal Government an interagency working group to determine weather and environmental data or observation requirements, needs, and potential solutions related to aviation weather and turbulence modeling or forecasting;
(ii)
identifying current and future potential data gaps related to turbulence events or phenomena that can—
(I)
identify or inform route-specific flight planning; and
(II)
be supplemented or filled by commercial aviation tools;
(iii)
transitioning research initiatives and pilot programs, including a pilot program of instrumentation deployed on commercial aircraft for observing atmospheric composition and other atmospheric factors and support for the evaluation of a sustained observing network using such instrumentation, into operations that improve the forecasting capabilities of the Aviation Weather Center;
(iv)
developing and deploying improved probabilistic aviation weather forecast guidance technology; and
(v)
updating interagency agreements as appropriate, including to address reimbursable agreements.
(c)
Next generation aviation research— Section 102(b)(3) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8512(b)(3)), as amended by section 111(a) of this Act, is further amended—
(1)
by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and (G) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:

“(F) aviation weather phenomena, including atmospheric composition and turbulence, to improve scientific understanding and forecast capabilities for the airspace system;”

(d)
Aviation information dissemination— The Under Secretary shall ensure the Aviation Weather Center is able, to the maximum extent possible, to disseminate in a timely manner full-resolution aviation weather data, forecasts, and information to meet the needs of aviation users.
(e)
Provision of weather services to the Federal Aviation Administration—
(1)
Sense of Congress— It is the sense of Congress that the aviation weather services provided to the Federal Aviation Administration by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are critical to the functions of the Federal Aviation Administration and the safety of the flying public.
(2)
Interagency agreement and supplemental services—
(A)
In general— The Under Secretary and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall enter into or otherwise participate in an interagency agreement for a period of not less than 5 years under which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides weather services to the Federal Aviation Administration.
(B)
Request for proposals— To inform the interagency agreement under subparagraph (A), the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall, in consultation with the Under Secretary, request proposals from the weather enterprise to evaluate commercial opportunities to supplement, and not replace, weather services or data at central weather service units provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(C)
Compensation— The interagency agreement under subparagraph (A) shall ensure that the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration fairly compensates the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in a timely manner, for utilizing services under this agreement.
(3)
Briefings— Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter through December 31, 2030, the Under Secretary and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall provide a briefing to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives on the status of—
(A)
the provision by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of weather services to the Federal Aviation Administration; and
(B)
the interagency agreement under paragraph (2).

Sec. 208 National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service partnership program, transition program, and operational planning

(a)
Partnership program—
(1)
In general— The Assistant Administrator of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (in this section referred to as the “Assistant Administrator”) shall maintain a partnership program to enhance engagement with the private sector, academia, and other Federal agencies (in this subsection referred to as the “partnership program”).
(2)
Administration— The Assistant Administrator, in consultation with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall administer broad agency announcements and other transactional authority or contracting mechanisms, on an annual or more frequent basis, to support the partnership program.
(b)
Transition program—
(1)
In general— To support the development of next-generation technologies, missions, data systems, spacecraft, and instrument design, the Assistant Administrator, in consultation with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall maintain a program to transition selected awards from research and study phases into demonstration (in this subsection referred to as the “transition program”).
(2)
Considerations— In selecting awardees for demonstrations under the transition program, the Assistant Administrator shall consider technologies, missions, data systems, spacecraft, and instrument design that—
(A)
improve upon the satellite architecture of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
(B)
have a direct impact on implementing the recommendations of the Satellite Observing System Architecture Study of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration entitled, “Building a Plan for NOAA’s 21st Century Satellite Observing System” and dated May 31, 2018; and
(C)
meet current or future mission requirements.
(3)
Operational planning— In carrying out the transition program, the Assistant Administrator shall monitor demonstration phase progress and plan for promising results that meet mission requirements to be transitioned into the operational satellite architecture of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(c)
Annual plan— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter through 2029, the Assistant Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives an annual plan that outlines the progress made in the partnership program under subsection (a), the transition program under subsection (b), and operational planning under subsection (b)(3).
(d)
Authorization of appropriations— From amounts authorized to be appropriated to the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, there shall be available $20,000,000 for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out to this section.

Sec. 209 Advanced weather interactive processing system

(a)
In general— Not later than September 30, 2030, the Under Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Weather Service, shall develop a strategy to transition operations of the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System to an operational cloud-based environment.
(b)
Services— The Under Secretary shall ensure that the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System in an operational cloud-based environment referred to in subsection (a) provides impact-based decision support services to emergency managers at the Federal, State, local, and Tribal levels, and continues to provide the following services:
(1)
Integrating and displaying forecast data, including meteorological, hydrological, climate, ocean, satellite, and radar data, for field offices and national centers of the National Weather Service.
(2)
Acquiring and processing observational data from sensors and local sources.
(3)
Providing an interactive communications system, including any relevant capabilities of the existing satellite broadcast network, to connect relevant employees and sites of the National Weather Service.
(4)
Initiating the dissemination of weather, water, marine, ecological, subseasonal to seasonal, aviation, and space warnings and forecasts in a rapid and highly reliable manner.
(c)
Elements— The transition of operations required under subsection (a) may include the following:
(1)
Establishment or support of testbeds, pilot projects, and functional testing activities to facilitate remote evaluation and automated testing.
(2)
Coordinated training efforts needed for Federal and non-Federal users and operators of the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System in an operational cloud-based environment referred to in subsection (a).
(3)
Evaluation of bandwidth requirements to achieve a quality user experience.
(4)
Installation of circuits to reduce lapses in network operations and support backup functions.
(5)
Establishment of a cloud-based, remotely accessible repository for data referred to in subsection (b)(2).
(6)
Development and deployment of virtualized systems to replace physical hardware at operational sites.
(7)
Evaluation of commercial cloud providers, including hybrid approaches, to meet mission needs.
(8)
Development, testing, demonstration, evaluation, and operationalization of forecast and warning products, consistent with the mission and scientific expertise of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(d)
Updates to Congress— The Under Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives periodic updates on the implementation of this section.
(e)
Continued innovation— Nothing in this section may be construed as prohibiting the development of new forecast capabilities or sub-systems or implementing modeling advancements on the operational computing systems of the Administration.

Sec. 210 Reanalysis and reforecasting

The Under Secretary may support reanalysis and reforecasting activities within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including through weather testbeds of the Administration—
(1)
for improving weather forecasts, extreme weather predictions, and weather and climate datasets; and
(2)
to serve as training data for artificial intelligence and machine learning data-driven models.

Sec. 211 National Weather Service workforce

(a)
Hiring assessment—
(1)
In general— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director of the National Weather Service shall submit to the Under Secretary and Congress an assessment of the milestones, timelines, and service level expectations required for the expeditious hiring and timely onboarding of employees of the National Weather Service.
(2)
Elements— Each assessment required by paragraph (1) may include the following:
(A)
Recommendations to outsource hiring to any entity other than the National Weather Service in order to meet the milestones, timelines, and service level expectations described in paragraph (1).
(B)
Determinations of the number of staff and designated positions required at each forecasting office to provide services to protect lives and property in the geographic region of responsibility.
(b)
Health and morale assessment—
(1)
In general— The Director of the National Weather Service shall enter into a contract with, or continue to partner with, an entity other than the National Weather Service to conduct an assessment of medical impacts, including stress and long-term health impacts, on employees of the National Weather Service related to required rotating shift work.
(2)
Elements— The assessment required by paragraph (1) may include—
(A)
options for mitigating the impacts on employees described in that paragraph; and
(B)
recommendations for improving benefits related to required rotating shift work.
(c)
Role of the Director— Notwithstanding the results of the assessment under subsection (a), the Director of the National Weather Service shall establish service level standards based on staffing levels.
(d)
Designation and responsibilities of service hydrologists—
(1)
In general— The Director of the National Weather Service may designate at least one service hydrologist at each Weather Forecast Office of the National Weather Service.
(2)
Performance by other employees— Notwithstanding paragraphs (3) and (4), the Director of the National Weather Service may assign the performance of the responsibilities described in this subsection to such other staff of the National Weather Service as the Director considers appropriate.
(3)
Responsibilities— In order to increase impact-based decision support services, each service coordination hydrologist designated under paragraph (1) shall, with respect to hydrology, carry out the following:
(A)
Provide service to the geographic area of responsibility covered by the Weather Forecast Office at which the service coordination hydrologist is employed to help ensure that users of products and services of the National Weather Service can respond effectively to improve outcomes from flood events.
(B)
Liaise with users of products and services of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, such as emergency managers, the public, academia, media outlets, users in the hydropower, transportation, recreation, and agricultural communities, and forestry, land, fisheries, and water management interests, to evaluate the adequacy and usefulness of the products and services referred to in subparagraph (A), including extended-range streamflow forecasts, water supply forecasts, drought outlooks, flood inundation mapping, coastal inundation, and flood warnings.
(C)
Collaborate with the National Water Center, the River Forecast Centers, other Weather Forecast Offices, the National Integrated Drought Information System, offices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Federal, State, local, and Tribal government agencies, as the Director considers appropriate, in developing, proposing, and implementing plans to develop, modify, or tailor such products and services to improve the usefulness of such products and services.
(D)
Engage in interagency partnerships with Federal, State, local, and Tribal government agencies to explore the use of forecast-informed reservoir operations to reduce flood risk and inform decisions related to water resources management.
(E)
Ensure the maintenance and accuracy of flooding and water resource management partner call lists, appropriate office hydrologic service policy or procedures, and other hydrologic information or dissemination methodologies or strategies.
(F)
Work closely with Federal, State, local, and Tribal emergency and floodplain management agencies, and other agencies relating to disaster management, to ensure a planned, coordinated, and effective preparedness and response effort.
(4)
Additional responsibilities— A service coordination hydrologist designated under paragraph (1) may, with respect to hydrology—
(A)
work with a State agency to develop plans for promoting more effective use of products and services of the National Weather Service throughout the State concerned;
(B)
identify priority community preparedness objectives;
(C)
develop plans to carry out the responsibilities described in paragraph (3); and
(D)
conduct flooding event preparedness planning and citizen education efforts with and through various State, local, and Tribal government agencies and other disaster management-related organizations.
(e)
Pilot projects—
(1)
In general— The Director of the National Weather Service shall—
(A)
perform pilot projects for—
(i)
transformational services related to decision support services and technology;
(ii)
transitioning data and services to the cloud;
(iii)
provision of on-site decision support for emergency management operations; and
(iv)
transitioning to and communication of probabilistic models, forecasts, and hazard information; and
(B)
conduct a study to assess the capabilities needed to scale those pilot projects toward a new and more efficient and effective operations model.
(2)
Sunset— The authority under paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(f)
Rule of construction— Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize or require a change in the authorized number of full-time equivalent employees of the National Weather Service or otherwise result in the employment of any additional employees.
(g)
Protection from hiring freezes—
(1)
In general— Title IV of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8541 et seq.), as amended by section 114(a), is further amended by adding at the end the following:

“410. Classification of and staffing plan for employees and protection from hiring freezes

“(a) Classification of certain employees

“(1) In general—Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall categorize each position in the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration specified under paragraph (2) as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification System.

“(2) Occupational series specified—The positions that are specified in this paragraph are positions in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that are—

“(A) determined by the Under Secretary to be involved in supporting forecasts and warnings to protect human life and property; and

“(B) determined by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to be—

“(i) a position in the Engineering and Architecture occupational series listed under occupational series 0801, 0802, 0810, 0855, or 0856;

“(ii) a position in the Production Controller (Aircraft) occupational series (1152);

“(iii) a position in the Physical Sciences occupational series listed under occupational series 1301, 1313, 1315, 1340, 1341, 1360, 1370, or 1372;

“(iv) a position in the Equipment Specialist Series (Aircraft) occupational series (1670);

“(v) a position in the Information Technology Management occupational series (2210); or

“(vi) a position held by a professional mariner (as defined in section 269B of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 3079b), including a position in occupational series 0865, 9901, 9916, 9920, 9923–24, 9927–28, 9931–34, 9944, 9954, 9960, 9965, 9968, 9971, 9973, and 9984).

“(3) Congressional briefing—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere shall provide a briefing on the implementation of this section to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives.

“(b) 5-Year staffing plan for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Under Secretary shall submit to Congress a 5-year staffing plan for—

“(1) the National Weather Service; and

“(2) any positions within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that support forecasts and warnings to protect human life and property, including positions that involve—

“(A) collection of data for incorporation into watches and warnings;

“(B) operation and maintenance of equipment for collection of data described in subparagraph (A);

“(C) maintenance of information technology systems;

“(D) modeling for forecasts and warnings; and

“(E) research to improve forecasts, warnings, and communication of those warnings to better protect human life and property.”

(2)
Clerical amendment— The table of contents for the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 409 the following:

Sec. 212 Artificial intelligence for weather forecasting

(a)
Definitions— In this section:
(1)
Artificial intelligence— The term artificial intelligence—
(A)
has the meaning given that term in section 5002 of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401); and
(B)
includes machine learning, neural networks, and natural language processing.
(2)
Artificial intelligence weather model— The term artificial intelligence weather model means a weather model based primarily on artificial intelligence technology to project future Earth system conditions based on machine learning using weather forecasting training datasets.
(3)
Curate— The term curate, with respect to a dataset, means—
(A)
to collect and maintain the dataset—
(i)
to ensure and document its quality; and
(ii)
to provide metadata on its provenance; and
(B)
to update the dataset periodically, as appropriate and practicable.
(4)
Numerical weather model— The term numerical weather model means a weather model based primarily on coupled Earth System processes that uses numerical computation to forecast future Earth system conditions.
(5)
Observational data— The term observational data means data and metadata from actual observations of environmental conditions, including remote sensing and in situ platforms.
(6)
Synthetic data— The term synthetic data means data produced from a model or statistical method in order to fill gaps in observational data.
(b)
Purpose— The purpose of this section is—
(1)
to improve accuracy and timeliness of weather, water, and space weather forecasts and effective dissemination of critical information;
(2)
to strengthen analytic capacity to inform resource deployments in response to and to mitigate harm from weather, water, wildfires, and space weather hazards through the mandated exploration and use of artificial intelligence by Federal agencies;
(3)
to strengthen public-private partnerships to accelerate adoption and outcomes of the use of artificial intelligence in response to and to mitigate such harm; and
(4)
to strengthen public-private partnerships in highly technical, high-risk, and high-reward fields related to weather, water, wildfires, and space weather forecasts.
(c)
Earth system forecasting and information delivery—
(1)
Training datasets— Not later than 4 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of the National Science Foundation, the Director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the Interagency Council on Advancing Meteorological Services, other appropriate Federal advisory committees as determined by the Under Secretary, and such other technical experts as the Under Secretary considers appropriate, shall develop and curate comprehensive weather forecasting training datasets with relevant Earth system data, quality information, and metadata necessary for weather forecasting.
(2)
Use of existing datasets— In order to speed the development of the weather forecasting training datasets required under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall assess, and to the greatest extent practicable build on, existing Earth system reanalysis datasets of the Federal Government.
(3)
Artificial intelligence weather model—
(A)
Global model— In carrying out this subsection, the Under Secretary, in consultation with appropriate Federal advisory committees as determined by the Under Secretary, may develop and test a global weather model based on artificial intelligence technologies utilizing data of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the extent possible.
(B)
Regional and local models— In addition to a global weather model under subparagraph (A), the Under Secretary may experiment with regional and local weather models based on artificial intelligence technologies.
(4)
Use of artificial intelligence to disseminate information— In coordination with an artificial intelligence weather model or models developed under paragraph (3), the Under Secretary may explore the use of artificial intelligence to enhance the dissemination of information with respect to weather and wildfire risks and evaluate the effectiveness of communication for improved public understanding and preparedness.
(5)
Continued support for observations, basic research, and numerical weather models— Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection, the Under Secretary shall continue to support and advance the activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—
(A)
to collect and acquire traditional and novel observational data relevant for artificial intelligence and numerical weather, water, and space weather forecasting;
(B)
to advance research on the Earth system and numerical weather model forecasting;
(C)
to develop and advance numerical Earth system modeling for predictions;
(D)
to develop weather model data post-processing techniques; and
(E)
to improve data assimilation techniques.
(6)
Observing system coverage— In carrying out this subsection, the Under Secretary may evaluate the use of cost functions in data-driven machine learning model training to balance inequities in observing system coverage and data poor areas.
(7)
Uncertainty quantification research— In carrying out this subsection, the Under Secretary may develop uncertainty quantification research for the purpose of accurate environmental risk and hazard communications of probabilistic predictions and forecasts.
(8)
Report— Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than every 2 years thereafter through 2035, the Under Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a report on the activities conducted under this subsection.
(d)
Advanced artificial intelligence applications for weather forecasts and information delivery— The Under Secretary shall explore advanced applications of artificial intelligence to improve weather forecasts and information delivery, such as by—
(1)
improving data assimilation;
(2)
accounting for coupled Earth system processes;
(3)
improving readiness and preparedness to combat wildfires, mitigation of the risk from wildfires, and improving safety for firefighters and communities at risk from wildfires;
(4)
using artificial intelligence weather models to generate ensemble forecasts to more accurately assess flow-dependent forecast uncertainties; and
(5)
improving impact-based decision support for greater societal benefits based on those forecasts.
(e)
Technical assistance on use of artificial intelligence weather, water, and space weather models—
(1)
In general— The Under Secretary shall provide—
(A)
technical assistance, data access, and support for forecasters, scientists, social scientists, and engineers to test and evaluate the use and effectiveness of the artificial intelligence models of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including within the testbeds of the Administration;
(B)
best practices on providing forecasts based on outputs from artificial intelligence weather models and numerical weather models, or a combination thereof; and
(C)
support for emergency managers to make operational decisions based on outputs from artificial intelligence weather models and numerical weather models, or a combination thereof.
(2)
Assessment of weather models—
(A)
In general— The Under Secretary shall support the development of a common framework for the assessment of numerical weather models and artificial intelligence weather models by comparing model output and observational data over a period of time in the past through the use of such methodologies as the Under Secretary considers appropriate.
(B)
Best practices— In carrying out this paragraph, the Under Secretary may develop and disseminate best practices in collaboration with—
(i)
the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy;
(ii)
academic and research institutions; and
(iii)
the private sector.
(3)
Technical assistance— In carrying out this subsection, the Under Secretary may provide technical assistance, best practices, and support required under paragraph (1) through the National Weather Service.
(4)
Independent study on the impacts of artificial intelligence weather, water, and space weather models— The Under Secretary may enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences or another entity as determined appropriate by the Under Secretary to assess the impacts of artificial intelligence weather models on the weather enterprise and make recommendations to improve the integration of such models in operational forecasting.
(f)
Partnerships for transformational innovation—
(1)
In general— The Under Secretary may explore novel structures for partnerships with private, academic, and international entities for research and development of transformative innovation in weather forecasting and other environmental forecasts—
(A)
to further the understanding of weather, water, wildfires, and space weather, and their societal impact;
(B)
to advance the science of weather and water forecasting, including subseasonal to seasonal forecasting; and
(C)
to develop, evaluate, and transition artificial intelligence weather, water, and hazard forecasting applications to operations.
(2)
Co-investment— Subject to applicable law, the Under Secretary may consider and adopt novel co-investment strategies with the private academic and international sectors to carry out paragraph (1), including—
(A)
non-Federal Government contributions to resource and support high-risk, high-return research and development in environmental forecasting, data science, artificial intelligence, and related fields;
(B)
shared rights to intellectual property from research and development activities under this subsection; and
(C)
other approaches to sharing resources and results under this subsection.
(g)
Availability of dataset—
(1)
In general— The Under Secretary shall develop and implement a plan to make available to the public, at no cost and subject to applicable law and policy, the following:
(A)
Operational artificial intelligence weather models developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(B)
Artificial intelligence weather models that are not operational models, including experimental and developmental models, as the Under Secretary determines appropriate.
(C)
Applicable information and documentation for artificial intelligence weather models described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), including a description of intended model outputs.
(D)
Subject to subsection (i), all data owned by the Federal Government and data that the Under Secretary has the legal right to redistribute that are associated with artificial intelligence weather models made available to the public pursuant to the plan and used in operational forecasting by the Administration, including—
(i)
relevant metadata; and
(ii)
data used for operational artificial intelligence weather models used by the Administration.
(2)
Accommodations— In developing and implementing the plan under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary may make such accommodations as the Under Secretary considers appropriate to ensure that the public release of any artificial intelligence weather model, information, documentation, or data pursuant to the plan does not jeopardize—
(A)
national security;
(B)
intellectual property or redistribution rights, including under titles 17 and 35, United States Code;
(C)
any trade secret or commercial or financial information subject to section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code;
(D)
any models or data that are otherwise restricted by contract or other written agreement; or
(E)
the mission of the Administration to protect lives and property.
(3)
Report—
(A)
In general— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall submit to Congress a report, in both unclassified and classified form, regarding the risks to the economic and intellectual security of the United States from foreign countries of concern through access by those countries to weather data in the United States.
(B)
Elements— The report required under subparagraph (A) shall include—
(i)
a full analysis of the national, intellectual, and economic security implications for the United States with respect to intellectual property theft or cyber or human espionage through access to weather data; and
(ii)
conclusions of the Under Secretary and recommendations for legislative and administrative action, if any.
(C)
Foreign country of concern defined— In this paragraph, the term foreign country of concern has the meaning given that term in section 9901 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651).
(h)
Retention of Federal government expertise— Subject to applicable law, the Under Secretary may consider novel methods to recruit, retrain, and retain expert personnel to support activities under this section, including by—
(1)
using methods to be competitive with salaries outside the Federal Government;
(2)
developing staff exchange programs and training programs; and
(3)
leveraging applicable hiring and retention strategies authorized for Federal agencies.
(i)
Protection of national security interests—
(1)
In general— Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Under Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, may withhold models or data used under this section if the Under Secretary determines doing so to be necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.
(2)
Rule of construction— Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede any other provision of law governing the protection of the national security interests of the United States.
(j)
Authorization of appropriations— There is authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary to carry out this section—
(1)
for fiscal year 2026, $311,000,000; and
(2)
for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2030, $76,000,000.

Sec. 213 Composition of the atmosphere and atmospheric observations

(a)
Assessments— Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes the following:
(1)
An identification of Federal observation capabilities and data gaps related to the composition of Earth’s atmosphere, including the troposphere and stratosphere.
(2)
An analysis of Federal efforts that advance scientific understanding of the effects on the Earth’s radiation budget of direct or indirect actions that may change the composition of Earth’s atmosphere.
(3)
The current and projected use of ground-based, space-based, and maritime-based remote and in situ sensing capabilities, autonomous and manned aerial platforms, and other commercially available technologies and platforms of opportunity to accelerate research and increase observations and monitoring of Earth’s atmosphere.
(4)
Recommendations for the adaptation or expansion of technologies and platforms identified under paragraph (3).
(5)
An identification and prioritization of additional observation and analysis capabilities needed to ensure comprehensive monitoring that detects future changes in atmospheric composition.
(b)
Considerations— In preparing an assessment required by subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall consider and use, as appropriate, reports and studies conducted by Federal agencies, the National Research Council, or other entities.
(c)
Pilot projects—
(1)
In general— The Under Secretary may conduct pilot projects of atmospheric composition observational systems and platforms including—
(A)
the use of atmospheric observing instruments on commercial and uncrewed aircraft;
(B)
the use of atmospheric and oceanic observing instruments on uncrewed ocean surface platforms or deployed on commercial or other nondedicated ocean vessels; and
(C)
in situ observation capability to conduct regular atmospheric observations of the troposphere and stratosphere.
(2)
Consultation and coordination— The Under Secretary shall consult and coordinate with relevant Federal agencies to develop processes for the appropriate deployment of systems and platforms pursuant to pilot projects conducted under paragraph (1).
(d)
Authority To enter into agreements— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Under Secretary may enter into agreements, to the extent necessary to carry out this section, with governmental and nongovernmental entities—
(1)
for the purchase of atmospheric composition data from commercial providers;
(2)
for the hosting of observational instruments on government or private platforms; and
(3)
to leverage data from international platforms as appropriate.
(e)
Definition of appropriate committees of Congress— In this section, the term appropriate committees of Congress means—
(1)
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and
(2)
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives.

Sec. 214 Project to improve forecasts of coastal marine fog

(a)
In general— The Under Secretary shall conduct a project to improve forecasts of coastal marine fog.
(b)
Goal— The goal of the project required under subsection (a) is to enhance vessel safety and reduce the economic impact of coastal marine fog events, with a focus on—
(1)
increasing the number of marine-based observations through additional Federal platforms and commercially acquired observations in locations where impacts from marine fog and reduced visibility have major safety and economic impacts, including through the use of—
(A)
buoys;
(B)
meteorological stations measuring visibility, temperature, dewpoint, and wind speed and direction as a stand-alone or co-located with water level sensors, such as those that are part of the physical oceanographic observation system program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
(C)
stationary platforms or drifting instruments;
(D)
vessels;
(E)
unmanned systems;
(F)
remote sensing technologies, including rapid refresh hyperspectral satellite imagery; and
(G)
advanced algorithms that extract actionable information from observational data, including early detection and regular monitoring of marine fog;
(2)
advancing geographic coverage, resolution, skill, and accuracy of marine fog modeling, including, when feasible, additional locations and advancements in marine channel forecast capability;
(3)
improving communication of marine fog advisories by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
(4)
communicating risks posed by hazardous marine fog events in a way that maximizes informed decision making by the public; and
(5)
providing decision support services based on environmental information that is actionable to the recipient of a marine fog advisory.
(c)
Stakeholder engagement— In implementing the project required under subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall meet with public and private stakeholders regarding the planning, development, and implementation of the project.
(d)
Tribal engagement— The Under Secretary shall meet with Indian tribes (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) regarding the planning, development, and implementation of the project required under subsection (a).
(e)
Project plan— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall develop a plan for the project required under subsection (a) that details the specific research, development, and technology transfer activities, as well as corresponding resources and timelines, necessary to achieve the goal set forth under subsection (b).