HR 353 RDS
Sec. 410. Report on contract positions at National Weather Service. 
Sec. 411. Weather impacts to communities and infrastructure. 
Sec. 412. Weather enterprise outreach. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) SEASONAL.—The term ‘‘seasonal’’ means 
the time range between 3 months and 2 years. 
(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State, 
a territory, or possession of the United States, in-
cluding a Commonwealth, or the District of Colum-
bia. 
(3) SUBSEASONAL.—The term ‘‘subseasonal’’ 
means the time range between 2 weeks and 3 
months. 
(4) UNDER
SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 
Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 
for Oceans and Atmosphere. 
(5) WEATHER INDUSTRY AND WEATHER EN-
TERPRISE.—The terms ‘‘weather industry’’ and 
‘‘weather enterprise’’ are interchangeable in this Act, 
and include individuals and organizations from pub-
lic, private, and academic sectors that contribute to 
the research, development, and production of weath-
er forecast products, and primary consumers of 
these weather forecast products. 
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TITLE 
I—UNITED 
STATES 
WEATHER 
RESEARCH 
AND 
FORECASTING 
IMPROVE-
MENT 
SEC. 101. PUBLIC SAFETY PRIORITY. 
In conducting research, the Under Secretary shall 
prioritize improving weather data, modeling, computing, 
forecasting, and warnings for the protection of life and 
property and for the enhancement of the national econ-
omy. 
SEC. 102. WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNO-
VATION. 
(a) PROGRAM.—The Assistant Administrator for the 
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research shall conduct 
a program to develop improved understanding of and fore-
cast capabilities for atmospheric events and their impacts, 
placing priority on developing more accurate, timely, and 
effective warnings and forecasts of high impact weather 
events that endanger life and property. 
(b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program described 
in subsection (a) shall focus on the following activities: 
(1) Improving the fundamental understanding 
of weather consistent with section 101, including the 
boundary layer and other processes affecting high 
impact weather events. 
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(2) Improving the understanding of how the 
public receives, interprets, and responds to warnings 
and forecasts of high impact weather events that en-
danger life and property. 
(3) Research and development, and transfer of 
knowledge, technologies, and applications to the Na-
tional Weather Service and other appropriate agen-
cies and entities, including the United States weath-
er industry and academic partners, related to— 
(A) advanced radar, radar networking 
technologies, and other ground-based tech-
nologies, including those emphasizing rapid, 
fine-scale sensing of the boundary layer and 
lower troposphere, and the use of innovative, 
dual-polarization, phased-array technologies; 
(B) aerial weather observing systems; 
(C) high performance computing and infor-
mation technology and wireless communication 
networks; 
(D) advanced numerical weather prediction 
systems and forecasting tools and techniques 
that improve the forecasting of timing, track, 
intensity, and severity of high impact weather, 
including through— 
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(i) the development of more effective 
mesoscale models; 
(ii) more effective use of existing, and 
the development of new, regional and na-
tional cloud-resolving models; 
(iii) enhanced global weather models; 
and 
(iv) integrated assessment models; 
(E) quantitative assessment tools for meas-
uring the impact and value of data and observ-
ing systems, including Observing System Sim-
ulation Experiments (as described in section 
107), Observing System Experiments, and 
Analyses of Alternatives; 
(F) atmospheric chemistry and interactions 
essential to accurately characterizing atmos-
pheric composition and predicting meteorolog-
ical processes, including cloud microphysical, 
precipitation, and atmospheric electrification 
processes, to more effectively understand their 
role in severe weather; and 
(G) additional sources of weather data and 
information, including commercial observing 
systems. 
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(4) A technology transfer initiative, carried out 
jointly and in coordination with the Director of the 
National Weather Service, and in cooperation with 
the United States weather industry and academic 
partners, to ensure continuous development and 
transition of the latest scientific and technological 
advances into operations of the National Weather 
Service and to establish a process to sunset outdated 
and expensive operational methods and tools to en-
able cost-effective transfer of new methods and tools 
into operations. 
(c) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 
under this section, the Assistant Administrator for 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research shall collaborate 
with and support the non-Federal weather research 
community, which includes institutions of higher 
education, private entities, and nongovernmental or-
ganizations, by making funds available through com-
petitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agree-
ments. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that not less than 30 percent of the funds 
for weather research and development at the Office 
of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research should be 
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