II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3817 

To improve the forecasting and understanding of tornadoes and other 

hazardous weather, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 10 (legislative day, MARCH 7), 2022 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. THUNE, 

and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To improve the 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Research and Notification Assessment for Development of 

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

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI10 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or 


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

2 institution’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 

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

4 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

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

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

8 (3) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

9 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 

10 for Oceans and Atmosphere. 

11 SEC. 3. HAZARDOUS WEATHER AND WATER EVENT RISK 

12 COMMUNICATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall main14 tain and improve the system of the National Oceanic and 

15 Atmospheric Administration by which the risks of haz16 ardous weather and water events are communicated to the 

17 general public, with the goal of informing action and en18 couraging response to prevent loss of life and property. 

19 (b) HAZARD RISK COMMUNICATION IMPROVEMENT

20 AND SIMPLIFICATION.— 

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

22 establish, or designate an existing office to serve as, 

23 a hazard risk communication office (in this sub24 section referred to as the ‘‘Office’’), for the purposes 


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1 of simplifying and improving the communication of 

2 hazardous weather and water event risks. 

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

4 eliminate, or modify unnecessary, redundant, or con5 fusing terms for hazardous weather and water event 

6 communications and add new terminology, as appro7 priate. 

8 (3) COMMUNICATIONS IMPROVEMENT.—The Of9 fice shall improve the form, content, and methods of 

10 hazardous weather and water event communications 

11 to more clearly inform action and increase the likeli12 hood that the public takes such action to prevent the 

13 loss of life or property. 

14 (4) EVALUATIONS.—The Office shall, in coordi15 nation with the performance branch of the National 

16 Weather Service, develop metrics for that branch to 

17 track and evaluate the degree to which hazardous 

18 weather and water event communications result in 

19 action and response. 

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

21 plan for the purpose of supporting the activities de22 scribed in paragraph (3). The plan shall be periodi23 cally updated and informed by internal and extra24 mural research and the results of the evaluation of 


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1 hazardous weather and water event communications 

2 conducted under paragraph (4). 

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

4 the Office shall develop and implement recommenda5 tions that— 

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

7 understanding from authoritative social, behav8 ioral, risk, and communication science research; 

9 (B) are validated by social, behavioral, 

10 risk, and communication science sound survey 

11 designs, taking into account the importance of 

12 reproducibility and replicability of results, using 

13 rigorous statistical analyses; 

14 (C) account for the needs of various demo15 graphics, vulnerable populations, and geo16 graphic regions; 

17 (D) account for the differences between 

18 various types of weather and water hazards; 

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

20 and local government partners and media part21 ners; and 

22 (F) account for necessary changes in the 

23 infrastructure, technology, and protocols for 

24 creating and disseminating federally operated 

25 watches and warnings. 


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1 (7) COORDINATION.—The Office shall periodi2 cally provide updates on best practices for commu3 nicating hazardous weather and water events to 

4 Federal, State, and local government partners, insti5 tutions of higher education, private entities, and 

6 media partners. 

7 (8) TIMELINESS AND CONSISTENCY.—The Of8 fice shall develop best practices and guidance for en9 suring timely and consistent communication across 

10 public facing platforms that disseminate hazardous 

11 weather and water event information. 

12 (c) HAZARD COMMUNICATION RESEARCH AND EN13 GAGEMENT.— 

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

15 establish or maintain a research program— 

16 (A) to modernize the creation and commu17 nication of risk-based, statistically reliable, 

18 probabilistic hazard information to inform effec19 tive responses to hazardous weather and water 

20 events; and 

21 (B) to improve the fundamental social, be22 havioral, risk, and communication science re23 garding hazardous weather and water event 

24 communication. 


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1 (2) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the re2 search program required by paragraph (1), the 

3 Under Secretary shall coordinate and communicate 

4 with States, Tribes, localities, and emergency man5 agers on research priorities and results. 

6 (3) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—To further research 

8 into hazard communication, the Under Sec9 retary, in collaboration with one or more eligible 

10 institutions, shall establish a pilot program to 

11 test the effectiveness of implementing the re12 search conducted under this subsection. 

13 (B) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION DEFINED.—In 

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

15 means any of the following: 

16 (i) A historically Black college or uni17 versity located in an area of persistent pov18 erty that is subjected to frequent severe 

19 weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, 

20 and floods. 

21 (ii) An institution of higher education 

22 in close proximity to a National Weather 

23 Service Weather Forecast Office of the Na24 tional Weather Service. 


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1 (d) DATA MANAGEMENT.—The Under Secretary 

2 shall establish, maintain, and improve a central repository 

3 system for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin4 istration for social, behavioral, risk, and economic data re5 lated to the communication of hazardous weather and 

6 water events, including data developed or received pursu7 ant to paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of subsection (b). 

8 (e) DIGITAL WATERMARKING.—The Under Secretary 

9 shall develop methods to reduce the likelihood of unauthor10 ized tampering with online hazardous weather and water 

11 event risk communication, such as developing digital wa12 termarks. 

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

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

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

16 shall prepare and submit to Congress a strategic plan for 

17 developing and prioritizing the implementation of high18 resolution probabilistic forecast guidance for tornadic con19 ditions using a next-generation weather forecast and 

20 warning framework. 

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

22 by subsection (a) shall include the following: 

23 (1) A discussion of— 


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1 (A) the priorities and needs of vulnerable 

2 populations and National Weather Service part3 ners; and 

4 (B) high-performance computing, visualiza5 tion, and dissemination needs. 

6 (2) A timeline and guidance for implementation 

7 of— 

8 (A) high-resolution numerical weather pre9 diction models; 

10 (B) methods for meeting the high-perform11 ance computing, visualization, and dissemina12 tion needs discussed under paragraph (1)(B); 

13 (C) real-time high-resolution probabilistic 

14 forecasts; 

15 (D) improved observations, including 

16 through radars, satellites, and uncrewed aerial 

17 systems; 

18 (E) a flexible framework to communicate 

19 clear and simple hazardous weather and water 

20 event information to the public; and 

21 (F) social, behavioral, risk, and commu22 nication research to improve the forecaster 

23 operational environment and societal informa24 tion reception 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 

6 the enactment of this Act to rate the severity of tor7 nadoes; and 

8 (2) determine whether updates to that system 

9 are required to ensure that the ratings accurately re10 flect 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 per17 form one or more post-storm surveys and assessments fol18 lowing each hazardous weather or water event determined 

19 by the Under Secretary to be of sufficient societal impor20 tance to warrant a post-event survey and assessment. 

21 (b) COORDINATION.—The Under Secretary shall co22 ordinate with Federal, State, and local governments, pri23 vate entities, and relevant institutions of higher education 

24 when conducting post-storm surveys and assessments 

25 under subsection (a) in order to optimize data collection, 

26 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 

9 and assessments conducted under subsection (a); 

10 (2) update tactics and procedures to enhance 

11 the efficiency and reliability of data obtained from 

12 post-storm surveys and assessments; and 

13 (3) increase the number of post-storm commu14 nity impact studies, including surveying individual 

15 responses and gathering survivability statistics. 

16 (e) SUPPORT FOR EMPLOYEES.—The Under Sec17 retary shall provide training, resources, and access to pro18 fessional counseling to support the emotional and mental 

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

20 surveys and assessments under subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 7. VORTEX-USA PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103 of the Weather Re23 search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 

24 8513) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘TOR2 NADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT AND EXTEN3 SION’’ and inserting ‘‘VORTEX-USA’’; 

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

5 tornado warning improvement and extension pro6 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘maintain a program for rap7 idly improving tornado forecast and warnings’’; 

8 (3) by striking subsections (c) and (d); and 

9 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(c) INNOVATIVE OBSERVATIONS.—The Under Sec11 retary shall ensure that the program required by sub12 section (a) periodically examines the value of incorporating 

13 innovative observations with respect to the improvement 

14 of tornado forecasts, predictions, and warnings, such as 

15 acoustic or infrasonic measurements, observations from 

16 phased array radars, and observations from mesonets. 

17 ‘‘(d) WARNINGS.—The program required by sub18 section (a) shall— 

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

20 and deploy probabilistic weather forecast guidance 

21 technology for tornados; and 

22 ‘‘(2) incorporate, as appropriate, hazard com23 munication research. 

24 ‘‘(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, 

11 and technology related to tornado formation, 

12 the interactions of tornadoes with the built and 

13 natural environment, and the interaction of tor14 nadoes and hurricanes. 

15 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY INSTITUTIONS.—In awarding 

16 grants under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary 

17 shall prioritize awarding grants to historically Black 

18 colleges and universities. 

19 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 is authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

21 to carry out this section $7,500,000 for each of fiscal 

22 years 2022 through 2030, of which not less than 

23 $2,000,000 each fiscal year shall be used for grants 

24 awarded under subsection (e).’’. 


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

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

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

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

5 103 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 103. VORTEX-USA program.’’. 

6 SEC. 8. REPORTS. 

7 (a) WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNO8 VATION ACT OF 2017.— 

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

10 Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 

11 (15 U.S.C. 8543) is amended by striking subsection 

12 (d). 

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

14 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 8543(a)) is amended by in15 serting ‘‘the’’ after ‘‘Director of’’. 

16 (b) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN17 ISTRATION AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1992.—Section 106 

18 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

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

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

21 U.S.C. 1537). 


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1 SEC. 9. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT 

2 ON HAZARDOUS WEATHER AND WATER 

3 ALERT DISSEMINATION. 

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

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

6 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

7 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

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

9 House of Representatives a report that examines the infor10 mation technology infrastructure of the National Weather 

11 Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis12 tration, specifically regarding the system for timely public 

13 notification of hazardous weather and water alerts and up14 dates. 

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

16 (a) shall include the following: 

17 (1) An analysis of the information technology 

18 infrastructure of the National Weather Service, in19 cluding software and hardware capabilities and limi20 tations, including an examination of server and data 

21 storage methods, broadband, data management, and 

22 data sharing. 

23 (2) An identification of secondary and tertiary 

24 fail-safes for the timely distribution of hazardous 

25 weather event alerts to the public. 


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1 (3) A determination of the extent to which pub2 lic notifications are delayed and an identification of 

3 corrective measures that do not add additional noti4 fication time. 

5 (4) An assessment of whether collaboration with 

6 other Federal offices, States, or private entities 

7 could reduce delays in notifications to the public. 

8 (5) A description of actions being undertaken to 

9 better identify critical steps in the hazards notifica10 tion process that may be vulnerable to disruption or 

11 failure in the event of communication, technologic, 

12 or computational failure. 

Æ 


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