II 

Calendar No. 258 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1284 

To improve forecasting and understanding of tornadoes and other hazardous 

weather, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2023 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. THUNE, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mrs. 

HYDE-SMITH, Mr. YOUNG, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. 

PETERS, Mr. MORAN, and Mr. WARNOCK) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 4, 2023 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To improve forecasting and understanding of tornadoes and 

other hazardous weather, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tornado Observations 

3 Research and Notification Assessment for Development of 

4 Operations Act’’ or the ‘‘TORNADO Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) HAZARDOUS WEATHER AND WATER

8 EVENTS.—The term ‘‘hazardous weather and water 

9 events’’ means weather and water events that have 

10 a high risk of loss of life or property, including— 

11 (A) severe storms, such as hurricanes and 

12 short-fused, small-scale hazardous weather or 

13 hydrologic events produced by thunderstorms, 

14 including large hail, damaging winds, torna15 does, and flash floods; 

16 (B) winter storms, such as freezing or fro17 zen precipitation (including freezing rain, sleet, 

18 and snow), or combined effects of freezing or 

19 frozen precipitation and strong winds; and 

20 (C) other weather hazards, such as ex21 treme heat or cold, wildfire, drought, dense fog, 

22 high winds, river flooding and lakeshore flood23 ing. 

24 (2) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI25 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or 

26 university’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B 

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1 institution’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 

2 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 

3 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

5 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

6 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

7 (4) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na8 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 

9 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

10 U.S.C. 15801). 

11 (5) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

12 government’’ means the recognized governing body 

13 of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, 

14 pueblo, village, community, component band, or com15 ponent reservation, individually identified (including 

16 parenthetically) in the list published most recently as 

17 of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to sec18 tion 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 

19 List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

20 (6) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

21 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 

22 for Oceans and Atmosphere. 

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1 SEC. 3. HAZARDOUS WEATHER AND WATER EVENT RISK 

2 COMMUNICATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall main4 tain and improve the system of the National Oceanic and 

5 Atmospheric Administration by which the risks of haz6 ardous weather and water events are communicated to the 

7 general public, with the goal of informing action and en8 couraging response to prevent loss of life and property. 

9 (b) HAZARD RISK COMMUNICATION IMPROVEMENT

10 AND SIMPLIFICATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

12 maintain a hazard risk communication office (in this 

13 subsection referred to as the ‘‘Office’’), for the pur14 poses of simplifying and improving the communica15 tion of hazardous weather and water event risks. 

16 (2) TERMINOLOGY.—The Office shall identify, 

17 eliminate, or modify unnecessary, redundant, or con18 fusing terms for hazardous weather and water event 

19 communications and add new terminology, as appro20 priate. 

21 (3) COMMUNICATIONS IMPROVEMENT.—The Of22 fice shall improve the form, content, and methods of 

23 hazardous weather and water event communications 

24 to more clearly inform action and increase the likeli25 hood that the public takes such action to prevent the 

26 loss of life or property. 

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1 (4) EVALUATIONS.—The Office shall, in coordi2 nation with the performance branch of the National 

3 Weather Service, develop metrics for that branch to 

4 track and evaluate the degree to which hazardous 

5 weather and water event communications result in 

6 action and response. 

7 (5) SUPPORT PLAN.—The Office shall develop a 

8 plan for the purpose of supporting the activities de9 scribed in paragraph (3). The plan shall be periodi10 cally updated and informed by internal and extra11 mural research and the results of the evaluation of 

12 hazardous weather and water event communications 

13 conducted under paragraph (4). 

14 (6) METHODS.—In carrying out this subsection, 

15 the Office shall develop and implement recommenda16 tions that— 

17 (A) are based on the best and most recent 

18 understanding from social, behavioral, risk, and 

19 communication science research; 

20 (B) are validated by social, behavioral, 

21 risk, and communication science, taking into ac22 count the importance of methods that support 

23 reproduction and replication of scientific stud24 ies, use of rigorous statistical analyses, and, as 

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1 applicable, data analysis supported by artificial 

2 intelligence and machine learning technologies; 

3 (C) account for the needs of various demo4 graphics, vulnerable populations, and geo5 graphic regions; 

6 (D) account for the differences between 

7 various types of weather and water hazards; 

8 (E) respond to the needs of Federal, State, 

9 and local government partners and media part10 ners; and 

11 (F) account for necessary changes in the 

12 infrastructure, technology, and protocols for 

13 creating and disseminating federally operated 

14 watches and warnings. 

15 (7) COORDINATION.—In implementing this Act, 

16 the Office shall coordinate with— 

17 (A) Federal partners, including National 

18 Laboratories, Cooperative Institutes, and re19 gional integrated sciences and assessments pro20 grams; 

21 (B) State and local government partners; 

22 (C) Tribal governments; 

23 (D) institutions of higher education; and 

24 (E) media partners. 

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1 (8) TIMELINESS AND CONSISTENCY.—The Of2 fice shall develop best practices and guidance for en3 suring timely and consistent communication across 

4 public facing platforms that disseminate hazardous 

5 weather and water event information. 

6 (c) HAZARD COMMUNICATION RESEARCH AND EN7 GAGEMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

9 establish or maintain a research program— 

10 (A) to modernize the creation and commu11 nication of risk-based, statistically reliable, 

12 probabilistic hazard information to inform effec13 tive actions and responses to hazardous weather 

14 and water events; and 

15 (B) to improve the fundamental social, be16 havioral, risk, and communication science re17 garding hazardous weather and water event 

18 communication. 

19 (2) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the re20 search program required by paragraph (1), the 

21 Under Secretary shall coordinate and communicate 

22 with States, Tribal governments, localities, and 

23 emergency managers on research priorities and re24 sults. 

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1 (3) PILOT PROGRAM FOR TORNADO HAZARD

2 COMMUNICATION REQUIRED.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—To further research 

4 into hazard communication, the Under Sec5 retary, in collaboration with one or more eligible 

6 institutions, shall establish a pilot program for 

7 tornado hazard communication to test the effec8 tiveness of implementing the research conducted 

9 under this subsection with respect to tornadoes. 

10 (B) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION DEFINED.—In 

11 this paragraph, the term ‘‘eligible institution’’ 

12 means any of the following: 

13 (i) A historically Black college or uni14 versity located in an area of persistent pov15 erty that is subjected to frequent severe 

16 weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, 

17 and floods. 

18 (ii) An institution of higher education 

19 in close proximity to a National Weather 

20 Service Weather Forecast Office of the Na21 tional Weather Service. 

22 (d) DATA MANAGEMENT.—The Under Secretary 

23 shall establish, maintain, and improve a central repository 

24 system for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin25 istration for social, behavioral, risk, and economic data reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1284.RS S1284
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1 lated to the communication of hazardous weather and 

2 water events, including data developed or received pursu3 ant to paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of subsection (b). 

4 (e) DIGITAL WATERMARKING.—The Under Secretary 

5 shall develop methods to reduce the likelihood of unauthor6 ized tampering with online hazardous weather and water 

7 event risk communication, such as developing digital wa8 termarks. 

9 SEC. 4. WARN-ON-FORECAST STRATEGIC PLAN. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 

12 shall prepare and submit to Congress a strategic plan for 

13 developing and prioritizing the implementation of high14 resolution probabilistic forecast guidance for hazardous 

15 weather and water events using a next-generation weather 

16 forecast and warning framework. 

17 (b) PLAN ELEMENTS.—The strategic plan required 

18 by subsection (a) shall include the following: 

19 (1) A discussion of— 

20 (A) the priorities and needs of vulnerable 

21 populations and National Weather Service part22 ners; and 

23 (B) high-performance computing, visualiza24 tion, and dissemination needs. 

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1 (2) A timeline and guidance for implementation 

2 of— 

3 (A) high-resolution numerical weather pre4 diction models; 

5 (B) methods for meeting the high-perform6 ance computing, visualization, and dissemina7 tion needs discussed under paragraph (1)(B); 

8 (C) real-time high-resolution probabilistic 

9 forecasts; 

10 (D) improved observations, including 

11 through radars, satellites, and uncrewed aerial 

12 systems; 

13 (E) a flexible framework to communicate 

14 clear and simple hazardous weather and water 

15 event information to the public; and 

16 (F) social, behavioral, risk, and commu17 nication research to improve the forecaster 

18 operational environment and societal informa19 tion reception and response. 

20 SEC. 5. TORNADO RATING SYSTEM. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, in col22 laboration with such stakeholders as the Under Secretary 

23 considers appropriate— 

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1 (1) evaluate the system used as of the date of 

2 the enactment of this Act to rate the severity of tor3 nadoes; and 

4 (2) determine whether updates to that system 

5 are required to ensure that the ratings accurately re6 flect the severity of tornadoes. 

7 (b) UPDATE REQUIRED.—If the Under Secretary de8 termines under subsection (a) that updates to the tornado 

9 rating system are necessary, the Under Secretary shall up10 date the system. 

11 SEC. 6. POST-STORM SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall per13 form one or more post-storm surveys and assessments fol14 lowing each hazardous weather or water event determined 

15 by the Under Secretary to be of sufficient societal impor16 tance to warrant a post-event survey and assessment. 

17 (b) COORDINATION.—The Under Secretary shall co18 ordinate with Federal, State, and local governments, Trib19 al governments, private entities, and relevant institutions 

20 of higher education when conducting post-storm surveys 

21 and assessments under subsection (a) in order to optimize 

22 data collection, sharing, and integration. 

23 (c) DATA AVAILABILITY.—The Under Secretary shall 

24 make the data obtained from each post-storm survey and 

25 assessment conducted under subsection (a) available to the 

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1 public as soon as practicable after conducting the survey 

2 and assessment. 

3 (d) IMPROVEMENT.—The Under Secretary shall— 

4 (1) investigate the role of uncrewed aerial sys5 tems in data collection during post-storm surveys 

6 and assessments conducted under subsection (a); 

7 (2) identify gaps in and update tactics and pro8 cedures to enhance the efficiency and reliability of 

9 data obtained from post-storm surveys and assess10 ments; and 

11 (3) increase the number of post-storm commu12 nity impact studies, including— 

13 (A) surveying individual responses; 

14 (B) conducting review of the accuracy of 

15 prior risk evaluations; 

16 (C) evaluating the efficacy of prior mitiga17 tion activity; and 

18 (D) gathering survivability statistics. 

19 (e) SUPPORT FOR EMPLOYEES.—The Under Sec20 retary shall provide training, resources, and access to pro21 fessional counseling to support the emotional and mental 

22 health and well-being of employees conducting post-storm 

23 surveys and assessments under subsection (a). 

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1 SEC. 7. VORTEX-USA PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103 of the Weather Re3 search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 

4 8513) is amended— 

5 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘TOR6 NADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT AND EXTEN7 SION’’ and inserting ‘‘VORTEX-USA’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘establish a 

9 tornado warning improvement and extension pro10 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘maintain a program for rap11 idly improving tornado forecast and warnings’’; 

12 (3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

13 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; 

14 (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(d) WARNINGS.—The program required by sub17 section (a) shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) continue the research necessary to develop 

19 and deploy probabilistic weather forecast guidance 

20 technology for tornadoes; and 

21 ‘‘(2) incorporate, as appropriate, hazard com22 munication research. 

23 ‘‘(e) RESEARCH.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, 

25 through the program required by subsection (a), 

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1 award grants for research that focuses on improv2 ing— 

3 ‘‘(A) the social, behavioral, risk, commu4 nication, and economic sciences related to 

5 vulnerabilities, risk communication, and delivery 

6 of information critical for saving lives and prop7 erty related to tornadoes; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the physical sciences, engineering, 

9 and technology related to tornado formation, 

10 the interactions of tornadoes with the built and 

11 natural environment, and the interaction of tor12 nadoes and hurricanes. 

13 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY INSTITUTIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants 

15 under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall 

16 prioritize awarding grants to minority-serving 

17 institutions. 

18 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF MINORITY-SERVING

19 INSTITUTION.—In this paragraph, the term ‘mi20 nority-serving institution’ means— 

21 ‘‘(i) a part B institution (as defined in 

22 section 322 of the Higher Education Act 

23 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061)); 

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1 ‘‘(ii) a Hispanic-serving institution (as 

2 defined in section 502(a) of that Act (20 

3 U.S.C. 1101a(a))); 

4 ‘‘(iii) a Tribal College or University 

5 (as defined in section 316(b) of that Act 

6 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b))); 

7 ‘‘(iv) an Alaska Native-serving institu8 tion (as defined in section 317(b) of that 

9 Act (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b))); 

10 ‘‘(v) a Native Hawaiian-serving insti11 tution (as defined in section 317(b) of that 

12 Act (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b))); 

13 ‘‘(vi) a Predominantly Black Institu14 tion (as defined in section 318(b) of that 

15 Act (20 U.S.C. 1059e(b))); 

16 ‘‘(vii) an Asian American and Native 

17 American Pacific Islander-serving institu18 tion (as defined in section 320(b) of that 

19 Act (20 U.S.C. 1059g(b))); or 

20 ‘‘(viii) a Native American-serving, 

21 nontribal institution (as defined in section 

22 319(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 

23 1059f(b))).’’; and 

24 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 is authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

3 to carry out this section $11,000,000 for each of fiscal 

4 years 2023 through 2030, of which not less than 

5 $2,000,000 each fiscal year shall be used for grants 

6 awarded under subsection (e).’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

8 in section 1(b) of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

9 Innovation Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–25; 131 Stat. 

10 91) is amended by striking the item relating to section 

11 103 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 103. VORTEX-USA program.’’. 

12 SEC. 8. REPORTS. 

13 (a) WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNO14 VATION ACT OF 2017.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 of the Weather 

16 Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 

17 (15 U.S.C. 8543) is amended by striking subsection 

18 (d). 

19 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 403(a) 

20 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 8543(a)) is amended by in21 serting ‘‘the’’ after ‘‘Director of’’. 

22 (b) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN23 ISTRATION AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1992.—Section 106 

24 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

25 Authorization Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–567; 106 

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1 Stat. 4274) is amended by striking subsection (c) (15 

2 U.S.C. 1537). 

3 SEC. 9. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT 

4 ON HAZARDOUS WEATHER AND WATER 

5 ALERT DISSEMINATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 540 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

8 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

9 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

10 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

11 House of Representatives a report that examines the infor12 mation technology infrastructure of the National Weather 

13 Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis14 tration, specifically regarding the system for timely public 

15 notification of hazardous weather and water event alerts 

16 and updates. 

17 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

18 (a) shall include the following: 

19 (1) An analysis of the information technology 

20 infrastructure of the National Weather Service, in21 cluding software and hardware capabilities and limi22 tations, including an examination of server and data 

23 storage methods, broadband, data management, and 

24 data sharing. 

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1 (2) An identification of secondary and tertiary 

2 fail-safes for the timely distribution of hazardous 

3 weather and water event alerts to the public. 

4 (3) A determination of the extent to which pub5 lic notifications are delayed and an identification of 

6 corrective measures that do not add additional noti7 fication time. 

8 (4) An assessment of whether collaboration with 

9 other Federal offices, States, or private entities 

10 could reduce delays in notifications to the public. 

11 (5) A description of actions being undertaken to 

12 better identify critical steps in the hazards notifica13 tion process that may be vulnerable to disruption or 

14 failure in the event of communication, technologic, 

15 or computational failure. 

16 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

17 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tornado Observations 

18 Research and Notification Assessment for Development of 

19 Operations Act’’ or the ‘‘TORNADO Act’’. 

20 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) HAZARDOUS WEATHER AND WATER

23 EVENTS.—The term ‘‘hazardous weather and water 

24 events’’ means weather and water events that have a 

25 high risk of loss of life or property, including— 

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1 (A) severe storms, such as hurricanes and 

2 short-fused, small-scale hazardous weather or hy3 drologic events produced by thunderstorms, in4 cluding large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, 

5 and flash floods; 

6 (B) winter storms, such as freezing or frozen 

7 precipitation (including freezing rain, sleet, and 

8 snow), or combined effects of freezing or frozen 

9 precipitation and strong winds; and 

10 (C) other weather hazards, such as extreme 

11 heat or cold, wildfire, drought, dense fog, high 

12 winds, river flooding, and lakeshore flooding. 

13 (2) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNIVER14 SITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or univer15 sity’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B institu16 tion’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 

17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 

18 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

19 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the In20 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

21 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

22 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

23 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean24 ing given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher 

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

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1 (5) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na2 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term in 

3 section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

4 15801). 

5 (6) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under Sec6 retary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce for 

7 Oceans and Atmosphere. 

8 SEC. 3. HAZARDOUS WEATHER AND WATER EVENT RISK 

9 COMMUNICATION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall main11 tain and improve the system of the National Oceanic and 

12 Atmospheric Administration by which the risks of haz13 ardous weather and water events are communicated to the 

14 general public, with the goal of informing action and en15 couraging response to prevent loss of life and property. 

16 (b) HAZARD RISK COMMUNICATION IMPROVEMENT

17 AND SIMPLIFICATION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

19 maintain a hazard risk communication office (in this 

20 subsection referred to as the ‘‘Office’’), for the pur21 poses of simplifying and improving the communica22 tion of hazardous weather and water event risks. 

23 (2) TERMINOLOGY.—The Office shall identify, 

24 eliminate, or modify unnecessary, redundant, or con25 fusing terms for hazardous weather and water event 

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1 communications and add new terminology, as appro2 priate. 

3 (3) COMMUNICATIONS IMPROVEMENT.—The Of4 fice shall improve the form, content, and methods of 

5 hazardous weather and water event communications 

6 to more clearly inform action and increase the likeli7 hood that the public takes such action to prevent the 

8 loss of life or property. 

9 (4) EVALUATIONS.—The Office shall, in coordi10 nation with the performance branch of the National 

11 Weather Service, develop metrics for that branch to 

12 track and evaluate the degree to which hazardous 

13 weather and water event communications inform ac14 tion and encourage response. 

15 (5) SUPPORT PLAN.—The Office shall develop a 

16 plan for the purpose of supporting the activities de17 scribed in paragraph (3). The plan shall be periodi18 cally updated and informed by internal and extra19 mural research and the results of the evaluation of 

20 hazardous weather and water event communications 

21 conducted under paragraph (4). 

22 (6) METHODS.—In carrying out this subsection, 

23 the Office shall develop and implement recommenda24 tions that— 

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1 (A) are based on the best and most recent 

2 understanding from social, behavioral, risk, and 

3 communication science research; 

4 (B) are validated by social, behavioral, risk, 

5 and communication science, taking into account 

6 the importance of methods that support repro7 duction and replication of scientific studies, use 

8 of rigorous statistical analyses, and, as applica9 ble, data analysis supported by artificial intel10 ligence and machine learning technologies; 

11 (C) account for the needs of various demo12 graphics, vulnerable populations, and geographic 

13 regions; 

14 (D) account for the differences between var15 ious types of weather and water hazards; 

16 (E) respond to the needs of Federal, State, 

17 and local government partners and media part18 ners; and 

19 (F) account for necessary changes in the in20 frastructure, technology, and protocols for cre21 ating and disseminating federally operated 

22 watches and warnings. 

23 (7) COORDINATION.—In implementing this Act, 

24 the Office shall coordinate with— 

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1 (A) Federal partners, including National 

2 Laboratories, Cooperative Institutes, and re3 gional integrated sciences and assessments pro4 grams; 

5 (B) State and local government partners; 

6 (C) Indian Tribes; 

7 (D) institutions of higher education; and 

8 (E) media partners. 

9 (8) TIMELINESS AND CONSISTENCY.—The Office 

10 shall develop best practices and guidance for ensuring 

11 timely and consistent communication across public 

12 facing platforms that disseminate hazardous weather 

13 and water event information. 

14 (c) HAZARD COMMUNICATION RESEARCH AND EN15 GAGEMENT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall es17 tablish or maintain a research program— 

18 (A) to modernize the creation and commu19 nication of risk-based, statistically reliable, prob20 abilistic hazard information, with the goal of in21 forming effective actions and encouraging re22 sponses to hazardous weather and water events; 

23 and 

24 (B) to improve the fundamental social, be25 havioral, risk, and communication science reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1284.RS S1284
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1 garding hazardous weather and water event com2 munication. 

3 (2) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the re4 search program required by paragraph (1), the Under 

5 Secretary shall coordinate and communicate with 

6 States, Indian Tribes, localities, and emergency man7 agers on research priorities and results. 

8 (3) PILOT PROGRAM FOR TORNADO HAZARD COM9 MUNICATION REQUIRED.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—To further research into 

11 hazard communication, the Under Secretary, in 

12 collaboration with one or more eligible institu13 tions, shall establish a pilot program for tornado 

14 hazard communication to test the effectiveness of 

15 implementing the research conducted under this 

16 subsection with respect to tornadoes. 

17 (B) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION DEFINED.—In 

18 this paragraph, the term ‘‘eligible institution’’ 

19 means any of the following: 

20 (i) A historically Black college or uni21 versity located in an area of persistent pov22 erty that is subjected to frequent severe 

23 weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and 

24 floods. 

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1 (ii) An institution of higher education 

2 in close proximity to a Weather Forecast 

3 Office of the National Weather Service. 

4 (d) DATA MANAGEMENT.—The Under Secretary shall 

5 establish, maintain, and improve a central repository sys6 tem for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra7 tion for social, behavioral, risk, and economic data related 

8 to the communication of hazardous weather and water 

9 events, including data developed or received pursuant to 

10 paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of subsection (b). 

11 (e) DIGITAL WATERMARKING.—The Under Secretary 

12 shall develop methods to reduce the likelihood of unauthor13 ized tampering with online hazardous weather and water 

14 event risk communication, such as developing digital water15 marks. 

16 SEC. 4. WARN-ON-FORECAST STRATEGIC PLAN. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall 

19 prepare and submit to Congress a strategic plan for devel20 oping and prioritizing the implementation of high-resolu21 tion probabilistic forecast guidance for hazardous weather 

22 and water events using a next-generation weather forecast 

23 and warning framework. 

24 (b) PLAN ELEMENTS.—The strategic plan required by 

25 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

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1 (1) A discussion of— 

2 (A) the priorities and needs of vulnerable 

3 populations and National Weather Service part4 ners; and 

5 (B) high-performance computing, visualiza6 tion, and dissemination needs. 

7 (2) A timeline and guidance for implementation 

8 of— 

9 (A) high-resolution numerical weather pre10 diction models; 

11 (B) methods for meeting the high-perform12 ance computing, visualization, and dissemina13 tion needs discussed under paragraph (1)(B); 

14 (C) real-time high-resolution probabilistic 

15 forecasts; 

16 (D) improved observations, including 

17 through radars, satellites, and uncrewed aerial 

18 systems; 

19 (E) a flexible framework to communicate 

20 clear and simple hazardous weather and water 

21 event information to the public; and 

22 (F) social, behavioral, risk, and commu23 nication research to improve the forecaster oper24 ational environment and societal information re25 ception and response. 

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1 SEC. 5. TORNADO RATING SYSTEM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, in col3 laboration with such stakeholders as the Under Secretary 

4 considers appropriate— 

5 (1) evaluate the system used as of the date of the 

6 enactment of this Act to rate the severity of tornadoes; 

7 and 

8 (2) determine whether updates to that system are 

9 required to ensure that the ratings accurately reflect 

10 the severity of tornadoes. 

11 (b) UPDATE REQUIRED.—If the Under Secretary de12 termines under subsection (a) that updates to the tornado 

13 rating system are necessary, the Under Secretary shall up14 date the system. 

15 SEC. 6. POST-STORM SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall perform 

17 one or more post-storm surveys and assessments following 

18 each hazardous weather or water event determined by the 

19 Under Secretary to be of sufficient societal importance to 

20 warrant a post-event survey and assessment. 

21 (b) COORDINATION.—The Under Secretary shall co22 ordinate with Federal, State, and local governments, Indian 

23 Tribes, private entities, and relevant institutions of higher 

24 education when conducting post-storm surveys and assess25 ments under subsection (a) in order to optimize data collec26 tion, sharing, and integration. 

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1 (c) DATA AVAILABILITY.—The Under Secretary shall 

2 make the data obtained from each post-storm survey and 

3 assessment conducted under subsection (a) available to the 

4 public as soon as practicable after conducting the survey 

5 and assessment. 

6 (d) IMPROVEMENT.—The Under Secretary shall— 

7 (1) investigate the role of uncrewed aerial sys8 tems in data collection during post-storm surveys and 

9 assessments conducted under subsection (a); 

10 (2) identify gaps in and update tactics and pro11 cedures to enhance the efficiency and reliability of 

12 data obtained from post-storm surveys and assess13 ments; and 

14 (3) increase the number of post-storm commu15 nity impact studies, including— 

16 (A) surveying individual responses; 

17 (B) conducting review of the accuracy of 

18 prior risk evaluations; 

19 (C) evaluating the efficacy of prior mitiga20 tion activity; and 

21 (D) gathering survivability statistics. 

22 (e) SUPPORT FOR EMPLOYEES.—The Under Secretary 

23 shall provide training, resources, and access to professional 

24 counseling to support the emotional and mental health and 

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1 well-being of employees conducting post-storm surveys and 

2 assessments under subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 7. VORTEX-USA PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103 of the Weather Re5 search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 

6 8513) is amended— 

7 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘TOR8 NADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT AND EXTEN9 SION’’ and inserting ‘‘VORTEX-USA’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘establish a 

11 tornado warning improvement and extension pro12 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘maintain a program for rap13 idly improving tornado forecast and warnings’’; 

14 (3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

15 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; 

16 (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(d) WARNINGS.—The program required by subsection 

19 (a) shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) continue the research necessary to develop 

21 and deploy probabilistic weather forecast guidance 

22 technology for tornadoes; and 

23 ‘‘(2) incorporate, as appropriate, hazard commu24 nication research. 

25 ‘‘(e) RESEARCH.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, 

2 through the program required by subsection (a), 

3 award grants for research that focuses on improv4 ing— 

5 ‘‘(A) the social, behavioral, risk, commu6 nication, and economic sciences related to 

7 vulnerabilities, risk communication, and delivery 

8 of information critical for saving lives and prop9 erty related to tornadoes; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the physical sciences, engineering, and 

11 technology related to tornado formation, the 

12 interactions of tornadoes with the built and nat13 ural environment, and the interaction of torna14 does and hurricanes. 

15 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY INSTITUTIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants 

17 under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall 

18 prioritize awarding grants to minority-serving 

19 institutions. 

20 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF MINORITY-SERVING IN21 STITUTION.—In this paragraph, the term ‘mi22 nority-serving institution’ means— 

23 ‘‘(i) a part B institution (as defined in 

24 section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 

25 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061)); 

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1 ‘‘(ii) a Hispanic-serving institution 

2 (as defined in section 502(a) of that Act (20 

3 U.S.C. 1101a(a))); 

4 ‘‘(iii) a Tribal College or University 

5 (as defined in section 316(b) of that Act (20 

6 U.S.C. 1059c(b))); 

7 ‘‘(iv) an Alaska Native-serving institu8 tion (as defined in section 317(b) of that 

9 Act (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b))); 

10 ‘‘(v) a Native Hawaiian-serving insti11 tution (as defined in section 317(b) of that 

12 Act (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b))); 

13 ‘‘(vi) a Predominantly Black Institu14 tion (as defined in section 318(b) of that 

15 Act (20 U.S.C. 1059e(b))); 

16 ‘‘(vii) an Asian American and Native 

17 American Pacific Islander-serving institu18 tion (as defined in section 320(b) of that 

19 Act (20 U.S.C. 1059g(b))); or 

20 ‘‘(viii) a Native American-serving, 

21 nontribal institution (as defined in section 

22 319(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1059f(b))).’’; 

23 and 

24 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary to 

3 carry out this section $11,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

4 2023 through 2030, of which not less than $2,000,000 each 

5 fiscal year shall be used for grants awarded under sub6 section (e).’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

8 section 1(b) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Inno9 vation Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–25; 131 Stat. 91) is 

10 amended by striking the item relating to section 103 and 

11 inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 103. VORTEX-USA program.’’. 

12 SEC. 8. REPORTS. 

13 (a) WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNOVA14 TION ACT OF 2017.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 of the Weather 

16 Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 

17 U.S.C. 8543) is amended by striking subsection (d). 

18 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 403(a) of 

19 such Act (15 U.S.C. 8543(a)) is amended by inserting 

20 ‘‘the’’ after ‘‘Director of’’. 

21 (b) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS22 TRATION AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1992.—Section 106 of 

23 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Au24 thorization Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–567; 106 Stat. 

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1 4274) is amended by striking subsection (c) (15 U.S.C. 

2 1537). 

3 SEC. 9. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT 

4 ON HAZARDOUS WEATHER AND WATER ALERT 

5 DISSEMINATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 540 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

8 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Com9 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

10 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

11 of Representatives a report that examines the information 

12 technology infrastructure of the National Weather Service 

13 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

14 specifically regarding the system for timely public notifica15 tion of hazardous weather and water event alerts and up16 dates. 

17 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection (a) 

18 shall include the following: 

19 (1) An analysis of the information technology in20 frastructure of the National Weather Service, includ21 ing software and hardware capabilities and limita22 tions, including an examination of server and data 

23 storage methods, broadband, data management, and 

24 data sharing. 

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1 (2) An identification of secondary and tertiary 

2 fail-safes for the timely distribution of hazardous 

3 weather and water event alerts to the public. 

4 (3) A determination of the extent to which public 

5 notifications are delayed and an identification of cor6 rective measures that do not add additional notifica7 tion time. 

8 (4) An assessment of whether collaboration with 

9 other Federal offices, States, or private entities could 

10 reduce delays in notifications to the public. 

11 (5) A description of actions being undertaken to 

12 better identify critical steps in the hazards notifica13 tion process that may be vulnerable to disruption or 

14 failure in the event of communication, technologic, or 

15 computational failure. 

Calendar No. 258 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1284 

A BILL 

To improve forecasting and understanding of tornapurposes. does and other hazardous weather, and for other 

DECEMBER 4, 2023 

Reported with an amendment