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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 258 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 258

    To improve forecasting and understanding of tornadoes and other 
               hazardous weather, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 27, 2025

Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Moran, Mr. 
 Sheehy, Mr. Young, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Warnock) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To improve forecasting and understanding of tornadoes and other 
               hazardous weather, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tornado Observations Research and 
Notification Assessment for Development of Operations Act'' or the 
``TORNADO Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Hazardous weather and water events.--The term 
        ``hazardous weather and water events'' means weather and water 
        events that have a high risk of loss of life or property, 
        including--
                    (A) severe storms, such as hurricanes and short-
                fused, small-scale hazardous weather or hydrologic 
                events produced by thunderstorms, including large hail, 
                damaging winds, tornadoes, and flash floods;
                    (B) winter storms, such as freezing or frozen 
                precipitation (including freezing rain, sleet, and 
                snow), or combined effects of freezing or frozen 
                precipitation and strong winds; and
                    (C) other weather hazards, such as extreme heat or 
                cold, wildfire, drought, dense fog, high winds, river 
                flooding, and lakeshore flooding.
            (2) Historically black college or university.--The term 
        ``historically Black college or university'' has the meaning 
        given the term ``part B institution'' in section 322 of the 
        Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061).
            (3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            (4) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001(a)).
            (5) National laboratory.--The term ``National Laboratory'' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy 
        Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
            (6) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means 
        the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.

SEC. 3. HAZARDOUS WEATHER AND WATER EVENT RISK COMMUNICATION.

    (a) In General.--The Under Secretary shall maintain and improve the 
system of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by which 
the risks of hazardous weather and water events are communicated to the 
general public, with the goal of informing action and encouraging 
response to prevent loss of life and property.
    (b) Hazard Risk Communication Improvement and Simplification.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall maintain a 
        hazard risk communication office (in this subsection referred 
        to as the ``Office''), for the purposes of simplifying and 
        improving the communication of hazardous weather and water 
        event risks.
            (2) Terminology.--The Office shall identify, eliminate, or 
        modify unnecessary, redundant, or confusing terms for hazardous 
        weather and water event communications and add new terminology, 
        as appropriate.
            (3) Communications improvement.--The Office shall improve 
        the form, content, and methods of hazardous weather and water 
        event communications to more clearly inform action and increase 
        the likelihood that the public takes such action to prevent the 
        loss of life or property.
            (4) Evaluations.--The Office shall, in coordination with 
        the performance branch of the National Weather Service, develop 
        metrics for that branch to track and evaluate the degree to 
        which hazardous weather and water event communications inform 
        action and encourage response.
            (5) Support plan.--
                    (A) In general.--The Office shall develop a plan 
                for the purpose of supporting the activities described 
                in paragraph (3).
                    (B) Periodic update and elements.--The plan 
                developed under subparagraph (A) shall be periodically 
                updated and informed by internal and extramural 
                research and the results of the evaluation of hazardous 
                weather and water event communications conducted under 
                paragraph (4).
            (6) Methods.--In carrying out this subsection, the Office 
        shall develop and implement recommendations that--
                    (A) are based on the best and most recent 
                understanding from social, behavioral, risk, and 
                communication science research;
                    (B) are validated by social, behavioral, risk, and 
                communication science, taking into account the 
                importance of methods that support reproduction and 
                replication of scientific studies, use of rigorous 
                statistical analyses, and, as applicable, data analysis 
                supported by artificial intelligence and machine 
                learning technologies;
                    (C) account for the needs of various demographics, 
                vulnerable populations, and geographic regions;
                    (D) account for the differences between various 
                types of weather and water hazards;
                    (E) respond to the needs of Federal, State, and 
                local government partners and media partners; and
                    (F) account for necessary changes in the 
                infrastructure, technology, and protocols for creating 
                and disseminating federally operated watches and 
                warnings.
            (7) Coordination.--In implementing this subsection, the 
        Office shall coordinate with--
                    (A) Federal partners, including National 
                Laboratories, Cooperative Institutes, and regional 
                integrated sciences and assessments programs;
                    (B) State and local government partners;
                    (C) Indian Tribes;
                    (D) institutions of higher education; and
                    (E) media partners.
            (8) Timeliness and consistency.--The Office shall develop 
        best practices and guidance for ensuring timely and consistent 
        communication across public facing platforms that disseminate 
        hazardous weather and water event information.
    (c) Hazard Communication Research and Engagement.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall establish or 
        maintain a research program--
                    (A) to modernize the creation and communication of 
                risk-based, statistically reliable, probabilistic 
                hazard information, with the goal of informing 
                effective actions and encouraging responses to 
                hazardous weather and water events; and
                    (B) to improve the fundamental social, behavioral, 
                risk, and communication science regarding hazardous 
                weather and water event communication.
            (2) Coordination.--In carrying out the research program 
        required by paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall coordinate 
        and communicate with States, Indian Tribes, localities, and 
        emergency managers on research priorities and results.
            (3) Pilot program for tornado hazard communication 
        required.--
                    (A) In general.--To further research into hazard 
                communication, the Under Secretary, in collaboration 
                with one or more eligible institutions, shall establish 
                a pilot program for tornado hazard communication to 
                test the effectiveness of implementing the research 
                conducted under this subsection with respect to 
                tornadoes.
                    (B) Eligible institution defined.--In this 
                paragraph, the term ``eligible institution'' means any 
                of the following:
                            (i) A historically Black college or 
                        university located in an area of persistent 
                        poverty that is subjected to frequent severe 
                        weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and 
                        floods.
                            (ii) An institution of higher education in 
                        close proximity to a Weather Forecast Office of 
                        the National Weather Service.
    (d) Data Management.--The Under Secretary shall establish, 
maintain, and improve a central repository system for the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for social, behavioral, risk, 
and economic data related to the communication of hazardous weather and 
water events, including data developed or received pursuant to 
paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of subsection (b).
    (e) Digital Watermarking.--The Under Secretary shall develop 
methods to reduce the likelihood of unauthorized tampering with online 
hazardous weather and water event risk communication, such as 
developing digital watermarks.

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

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall prepare and submit to 
Congress a strategic plan for developing and prioritizing the 
implementation of high-resolution probabilistic forecast guidance for 
hazardous weather and water events using a next-generation weather 
forecast and warning framework.
    (b) Plan Elements.--The strategic plan required by subsection (a) 
shall include the following:
            (1) A discussion of--
                    (A) the priorities and needs of vulnerable 
                populations and National Weather Service partners; and
                    (B) high-performance computing, visualization, and 
                dissemination needs.
            (2) A timeline and guidance for implementation of--
                    (A) high-resolution numerical weather prediction 
                models;
                    (B) methods for meeting the high-performance 
                computing, visualization, and dissemination needs 
                discussed under paragraph (1)(B);
                    (C) real-time high-resolution probabilistic 
                forecasts;
                    (D) improved observations, including through 
                radars, satellites, and uncrewed aerial systems;
                    (E) a flexible framework to communicate clear and 
                simple hazardous weather and water event information to 
                the public; and
                    (F) social, behavioral, risk, and communication 
                research to improve the forecaster operational 
                environment and societal information reception and 
                response.

SEC. 5. TORNADO RATING SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--The Under Secretary shall, in collaboration with 
such stakeholders as the Under Secretary considers appropriate--
            (1) evaluate the system used as of the date of the 
        enactment of this Act to rate the severity of tornadoes; and
            (2) determine whether updates to that system are required 
        to ensure that the ratings accurately reflect the severity of 
        tornadoes.
    (b) Update Required.--If the Under Secretary determines under 
subsection (a) that updates to the tornado rating system are necessary, 
the Under Secretary shall update the system.

SEC. 6. POST-STORM SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Under Secretary shall perform one or more 
post-storm surveys and assessments following each hazardous weather or 
water event determined by the Under Secretary to be of sufficient 
societal importance to warrant a post-event survey and assessment.
    (b) Coordination.--The Under Secretary shall coordinate with 
Federal, State, and local governments, Indian Tribes, private entities, 
and relevant institutions of higher education when conducting post-
storm surveys and assessments under subsection (a) in order to optimize 
data collection, sharing, and integration.
    (c) Data Availability.--The Under Secretary shall make the data 
obtained from each post-storm survey and assessment conducted under 
subsection (a) available to the public as soon as practicable after 
conducting the survey and assessment.
    (d) Improvement.--The Under Secretary shall--
            (1) investigate the role of uncrewed aerial systems in data 
        collection during post-storm surveys and assessments conducted 
        under subsection (a);
            (2) identify gaps in and update tactics and procedures to 
        enhance the efficiency and reliability of data obtained from 
        post-storm surveys and assessments; and
            (3) increase the number of post-storm community impact 
        studies, including by--
                    (A) surveying individual responses;
                    (B) conducting review of the accuracy of prior risk 
                evaluations;
                    (C) evaluating the efficacy of prior mitigation 
                activity; and
                    (D) gathering survivability statistics.
    (e) Support for Employees.--The Under Secretary shall provide 
training, resources, and access to professional counseling to support 
the emotional and mental health and well-being of employees conducting 
post-storm surveys and assessments under subsection (a).

SEC. 7. VORTEX-USA PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 103 of the Weather Research and 
Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8513) is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``tornado warning 
        improvement and extension'' and inserting ``vortex-usa'';
            (2) in subsection (a), by striking ``establish a tornado 
        warning improvement and extension program'' and inserting 
        ``maintain a program for rapidly improving tornado forecast and 
        warnings'';
            (3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections 
        (f) and (g), respectively;
            (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Warnings.--The program required by subsection (a) shall--
            ``(1) continue the research necessary to develop and deploy 
        probabilistic weather forecast guidance technology for 
        tornadoes; and
            ``(2) incorporate, as appropriate, hazard communication 
        research.
    ``(e) Research.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Under Secretary shall, through the 
        program required by subsection (a), award grants for research 
        that focuses on improving--
                    ``(A) the social, behavioral, risk, communication, 
                and economic sciences related to vulnerabilities, risk 
                communication, and delivery of information critical for 
                saving lives and property related to tornadoes; and
                    ``(B) the physical sciences, engineering, and 
                technology related to tornado formation, the 
                interactions of tornadoes with the built and natural 
                environment, and the interaction of tornadoes and 
                hurricanes.
            ``(2) Priority institutions.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In awarding grants under 
                paragraph (1), the Under Secretary may prioritize 
                awarding grants to minority-serving institutions.
                    ``(B) Definition of minority-serving institution.--
                In this paragraph, the term `minority-serving 
                institution' means--
                            ``(i) a part B institution (as defined in 
                        section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
                        (20 U.S.C. 1061));
                            ``(ii) a Hispanic-serving institution (as 
                        defined in section 502(a) of that Act (20 
                        U.S.C. 1101a(a)));
                            ``(iii) a Tribal College or University (as 
                        defined in section 316(b) of that Act (20 
                        U.S.C. 1059c(b)));
                            ``(iv) an Alaska Native-serving institution 
                        (as defined in section 317(b) of that Act (20 
                        U.S.C. 1059d(b)));
                            ``(v) a Native Hawaiian-serving institution 
                        (as defined in section 317(b) of that Act (20 
                        U.S.C. 1059d(b)));
                            ``(vi) a Predominantly Black Institution 
                        (as defined in section 318(b) of that Act (20 
                        U.S.C. 1059e(b)));
                            ``(vii) an Asian American and Native 
                        American Pacific Islander-serving institution 
                        (as defined in section 320(b) of that Act (20 
                        U.S.C. 1059g(b))); or
                            ``(viii) a Native American-serving, 
                        nontribal institution (as defined in section 
                        319(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1059f(b))).''; 
                        and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Under Secretary to carry out this section 
$11,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2032, of which not 
less than $2,000,000 each fiscal year shall be used for grants awarded 
under subsection (e).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (Public Law 
115-25; 131 Stat. 91) is amended by striking the item relating to 
section 103 and inserting the following:

``Sec. 103. VORTEX-USA program.''.

SEC. 8. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT ON HAZARDOUS WEATHER 
              AND WATER ALERT DISSEMINATION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 540 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
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 that examines the information 
technology infrastructure of the National Weather Service of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, specifically regarding 
the system for timely public notification of hazardous weather and 
water event alerts and updates.
    (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include 
the following:
            (1) An analysis of the information technology 
        infrastructure of the National Weather Service, including 
        software and hardware capabilities and limitations, including 
        an examination of server and data storage methods, broadband, 
        data management, and data sharing.
            (2) An identification of secondary and tertiary fail-safes 
        for the timely distribution of hazardous weather and water 
        event alerts to the public.
            (3) A determination of the extent to which public 
        notifications are delayed and an identification of corrective 
        measures that do not add additional notification time.
            (4) An assessment of whether collaboration with other 
        Federal Government offices, States, or private entities could 
        reduce delays in notifications to the public.
            (5) A description of actions being undertaken to better 
        identify critical steps in the hazards notification process 
        that may be vulnerable to disruption or failure in the event of 
        communication, technologic, or computational failure.

SEC. 9. ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN REPORT REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017.--
            (1) In general.--Section 403 of the Weather Research and 
        Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8543) is amended 
        by striking subsection (d).
            (2) Technical amendment.--Section 403(a) of such Act (15 
        U.S.C. 8543(a)) is amended by inserting ``the'' after 
        ``Director of''.
    (b) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization 
Act of 1992.--Section 106 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-567; 106 Stat. 
4274) is amended by striking subsection (c) (15 U.S.C. 1537).
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