H. R. 353 
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE FIRST SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and seventeen 
An Act 
To improve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather research 
through a focused program of investment on affordable and attainable advances 
in observational, computing, and modeling capabilities to support substantial 
improvement in weather forecasting and prediction of high impact weather events, 
to expand commercial opportunities for the provision of weather data, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Weather 
Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act 
is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
TITLE I—UNITED STATES WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING 
IMPROVEMENT 
Sec. 101. Public safety priority. 
Sec. 102. Weather research and forecasting innovation. 
Sec. 103. Tornado warning improvement and extension program. 
Sec. 104. Hurricane forecast improvement program. 
Sec. 105. Weather research and development planning. 
Sec. 106. Observing system planning. 
Sec. 107. Observing system simulation experiments. 
Sec. 108. Annual report on computing resources prioritization. 
Sec. 109. United States Weather Research program. 
Sec. 110. Authorization of appropriations. 
TITLE II—SUBSEASONAL AND SEASONAL FORECASTING INNOVATION 
Sec. 201. Improving subseasonal and seasonal forecasts. 
TITLE III—WEATHER SATELLITE AND DATA INNOVATION 
Sec. 301. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite and data 
management. 
Sec. 302. Commercial weather data. 
Sec. 303. Unnecessary duplication. 
TITLE IV—FEDERAL WEATHER COORDINATION 
Sec. 401. Environmental Information Services Working Group. 
Sec. 402. Interagency weather research and forecast innovation coordination. 
Sec. 403. Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and National Weather Serv-
ice exchange program. 
Sec. 404. Visiting fellows at National Weather Service. 
Sec. 405. Warning coordination meteorologists at weather forecast offices of Na-
tional Weather Service. 
Sec. 406. Improving National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration communica-
tion of hazardous weather and water events. 
Sec. 407. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Ready All 
Hazards Award Program.
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Sec. 408. Department of Defense weather forecasting activities. 
Sec. 409. National Weather Service; operations and workforce analysis. 
Sec. 410. Report on contract positions at National Weather Service. 
Sec. 411. Weather impacts to communities and infrastructure. 
Sec. 412. Weather enterprise outreach. 
Sec. 413. Hurricane hunter aircraft. 
Sec. 414. Study on gaps in NEXRAD coverage and recommendations to address 
such gaps. 
TITLE V—TSUNAMI WARNING, EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH ACT OF 2017 
Sec. 501. Short title. 
Sec. 502. References to the Tsunami Warning and Education Act. 
Sec. 503. Expansion of purposes of Tsunami Warning and Education Act. 
Sec. 504. Modification of tsunami forecasting and warning program. 
Sec. 505. Modification of national tsunami hazard mitigation program. 
Sec. 506. Modification of tsunami research program. 
Sec. 507. Global tsunami warning and mitigation network. 
Sec. 508. Tsunami science and technology advisory panel. 
Sec. 509. Reports. 
Sec. 510. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 511. Outreach responsibilities. 
Sec. 512. Repeal of duplicate provisions of law. 
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, including a Commonwealth, 
or the District of Columbia. 
(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 ENTERPRISE.—The 
terms ‘‘weather industry’’ and ‘‘weather enterprise’’ are inter-
changeable in this Act, and include individuals and organiza-
tions from public, private, and academic sectors that contribute 
to the research, development, and production of weather fore-
cast products, and primary consumers of these weather forecast 
products. 
TITLE I—UNITED STATES WEATHER RE-
SEARCH 
AND 
FORECASTING 
IM-
PROVEMENT 
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 enhance-
ment of the national economy. 
SEC. 102. WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNOVATION. 
(a) PROGRAM.—The Assistant Administrator for the Office of 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research shall conduct a program to 
develop improved understanding of and forecast 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:
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(1) Improving the fundamental understanding of weather 
consistent with section 101, including the boundary layer and 
other processes affecting high impact weather events. 
(2) Improving the understanding of how the public receives, 
interprets, and responds to warnings and forecasts of high 
impact weather events that endanger life and property. 
(3) Research and development, and transfer of knowledge, 
technologies, and applications to the National Weather Service 
and other appropriate agencies and entities, including the 
United States weather industry and academic partners, related 
to— 
(A) advanced radar, radar networking technologies, and 
other ground-based technologies, including those empha-
sizing rapid, fine-scale sensing of the boundary layer and 
lower troposphere, and the use of innovative, dual-polariza-
tion, phased-array technologies; 
(B) aerial weather observing systems; 
(C) high performance computing and information tech-
nology and wireless communication networks; 
(D) advanced numerical weather prediction systems 
and forecasting tools and techniques that improve the fore-
casting of timing, track, intensity, and severity of high 
impact weather, including through— 
(i) the development of more effective mesoscale 
models; 
(ii) more effective use of existing, and the develop-
ment of new, regional and national cloud-resolving 
models; 
(iii) enhanced global weather models; and 
(iv) integrated assessment models; 
(E) quantitative assessment tools for measuring the 
impact and value of data and observing systems, including 
Observing System Simulation Experiments (as described 
in section 107), Observing System Experiments, and Anal-
yses of Alternatives; 
(F) atmospheric chemistry and interactions essential 
to accurately characterizing atmospheric composition and 
predicting meteorological processes, including cloud micro-
physical, precipitation, and atmospheric electrification proc-
esses, to more effectively understand their role in severe 
weather; and 
(G) additional sources of weather data and information, 
including commercial observing systems. 
(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 develop-
ment 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 oper-
ational methods and tools to enable 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
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institutions of higher education, private entities, and non-
governmental organizations, by making funds available through 
competitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. 
(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 made available for the purpose described 
in paragraph (1). 
(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each year, concurrent with the annual 
budget request submitted by the President to Congress under sec-
tion 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, the Under Secretary shall submit 
to Congress a description of current and planned activities under 
this section. 
SEC. 103. TORNADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT AND EXTENSION PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collaboration with 
the United States weather industry and academic partners, shall 
establish a tornado warning improvement and extension program. 
(b) GOAL.—The goal of such program shall be to reduce the 
loss of life and economic losses from tornadoes through the develop-
ment and extension of accurate, effective, and timely tornado fore-
casts, predictions, and warnings, including the prediction of torna-
does beyond 1 hour in advance. 
(c) PROGRAM PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Administrator for Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Research, in coordination with the Director 
of the National Weather Service, shall develop a program plan 
that details the specific research, development, and technology 
transfer activities, as well as corresponding resources and timelines, 
necessary to achieve the program goal. 
(d) ANNUAL BUDGET FOR PLAN SUBMITTAL.—Following comple-
tion of the plan, the Under Secretary, acting through the Assistant 
Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and in 
coordination with the Director of the National Weather Service, 
shall, not less frequently than once each year, submit to Congress 
a proposed budget corresponding with the activities identified in 
the plan. 
SEC. 104. HURRICANE FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collaboration with 
the United States weather industry and such academic entities 
as the Administrator considers appropriate, shall maintain a project 
to improve hurricane forecasting. 
(b) GOAL.—The goal of the project maintained under subsection 
(a) shall be to develop and extend accurate hurricane forecasts 
and warnings in order to reduce loss of life, injury, and damage 
to the economy, with a focus on— 
(1) improving the prediction of rapid intensification and 
track of hurricanes; 
(2) improving the forecast and communication of storm 
surges from hurricanes; and 
(3) incorporating risk communication research to create 
more effective watch and warning products. 
(c) PROJECT PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary, acting through 
the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
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and in consultation with the Director of the National Weather 
Service, shall develop a plan for the project maintained 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 in subsection 
(b). 
SEC. 105. WEATHER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and not less frequently than once each year thereafter, the 
Under Secretary, acting through the Assistant Administrator for 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and in coordination with the 
Director of the National Weather Service and the Assistant 
Administrator for Satellite and Information Services, shall issue 
a research and development and research to operations plan to 
restore and maintain United States leadership in numerical weather 
prediction and forecasting that— 
(1) describes the forecasting skill and technology goals, 
objectives, 
and 
progress 
of 
the 
National 
Oceanic 
and 
Atmospheric Administration in carrying out the program con-
ducted under section 102; 
(2) identifies and prioritizes specific research and develop-
ment activities, and performance metrics, weighted to meet 
the operational weather mission of the National Weather 
Service to achieve a weather-ready Nation; 
(3) describes how the program will collaborate with stake-
holders, including the United States weather industry and aca-
demic partners; and 
(4) identifies, through consultation with the National 
Science Foundation, the United States weather industry, and 
academic partners, research necessary to enhance the integra-
tion of social science knowledge into weather forecast and 
warning processes, including to improve the communication 
of threat information necessary to enable improved severe 
weather planning and decisionmaking on the part of individuals 
and communities. 
SEC. 106. OBSERVING SYSTEM PLANNING. 
The Under Secretary shall— 
(1) develop and maintain a prioritized list of observation 
data requirements necessary to ensure weather forecasting 
capabilities to protect life and property to the maximum extent 
practicable; 
(2) consistent with section 107, utilize Observing System 
Simulation Experiments, Observing System Experiments, Anal-
yses of Alternatives, and other appropriate assessment tools 
to ensure continuous systemic evaluations of the observing 
systems, data, and information needed to meet the require-
ments of paragraph (1), including options to maximize observa-
tional capabilities and their cost-effectiveness; 
(3) identify current and potential future data gaps in 
observing capabilities related to the requirements listed under 
paragraph (1); and 
(4) determine a range of options to address gaps identified 
under paragraph (3).