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made available for the purpose described in para-
graph (1). 
(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each year, concurrent with 
the annual budget request submitted by the President to 
Congress under section 1105 of title 31, United States 
Code, for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration, the Under Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
description of current and planned activities under this 
section. 
SEC. 103. TORNADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT AND EXTEN-
SION PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabo-
ration with the United States weather industry and aca-
demic partners, shall establish a tornado warning improve-
ment and extension program. 
(b) GOAL.—The goal of such program shall be to re-
duce the loss of life and economic losses from tornadoes 
through the development and extension of accurate, effec-
tive, and timely tornado forecasts, predictions, and warn-
ings, including the prediction of tornadoes beyond 1 hour 
in advance. 
(c) PROGRAM PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Ad-
ministrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, in co-
ordination with the Director of the National Weather 
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Service, shall develop a program plan that details the spe-
cific research, development, and technology transfer activi-
ties, as well as corresponding resources and timelines, nec-
essary to achieve the program goal. 
(d) ANNUAL BUDGET FOR PLAN SUBMITTAL.—Fol-
lowing completion of the plan, the Under Secretary, acting 
through the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and At-
mospheric 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 budg-
et corresponding with the activities identified in the plan. 
SEC. 104. HURRICANE FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabo-
ration with the United States weather industry and such 
academic entities as the Administrator considers appro-
priate, shall maintain a project to improve hurricane fore-
casting. 
(b) GOAL.—The goal of the project maintained under 
subsection (a) shall be to develop and extend accurate hur-
ricane 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 inten-
sification and track of hurricanes; 
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(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 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 tech-
nology transfer activities, as well as corresponding re-
sources and timelines, necessary to achieve the goal set 
forth in subsection (b). 
SEC. 105. WEATHER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN-
NING. 
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 As-
sistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Re-
search and in coordination with the Director of the Na-
tional Weather Service and the Assistant Administrator 
for Satellite and Information Services, shall issue a re-
search and development and research to operations plan 
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to restore and maintain United States leadership in nu-
merical weather prediction and forecasting that— 
(1) describes the forecasting skill and tech-
nology goals, objectives, and progress of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 
carrying out the program conducted under section 
102; 
(2) identifies and prioritizes specific research 
and development 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 stakeholders, including the United States 
weather industry and academic partners; and 
(4) identifies, through consultation with the Na-
tional Science Foundation, the United States weath-
er industry, and academic partners, research nec-
essary to enhance the integration of social science 
knowledge into weather forecast and warning proc-
esses, including to improve the communication of 
threat information necessary to enable improved se-
vere weather planning and decisionmaking on the 
part of individuals and communities. 
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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 Observ-
ing System Simulation Experiments, Observing Sys-
tem Experiments, Analyses of Alternatives, and 
other appropriate assessment tools to ensure contin-
uous systemic evaluations of the observing systems, 
data, and information needed to meet the require-
ments of paragraph (1), including options to maxi-
mize observational capabilities and their cost-effec-
tiveness; 
(3) identify current and potential future data 
gaps in observing capabilities related to the require-
ments listed under paragraph (1); and 
(4) determine a range of options to address 
gaps identified under paragraph (3). 
SEC. 107. OBSERVING SYSTEM SIMULATION EXPERIMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In support of the requirements of 
section 106, the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Research shall undertake Observing System 
Simulation Experiments, or such other quantitative as-
sessments as the Assistant Administrator considers appro-
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