160 
SEC. 406. POST-STORM SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall per-
form one or more post-storm surveys and assessments fol-
lowing every hazardous weather or water event determined 
by the Under Secretary to be of sufficient societal impor-
tance to warrant a post-storm survey and assessment. 
(b) COORDINATION.—The Under Secretary shall co-
ordinate with Federal, State, and local governments, pri-
vate entities, and relevant institutions of higher education 
(or a consortia thereof) when conducting post-storm sur-
veys and assessments under this section to optimize data 
collection, sharing, integration, archiving, and access, as 
appropriate for research needs. 
(c) DATA AVAILABILITY.—The Under Secretary shall 
make the appropriate data obtained from each post-storm 
survey or assessment conducted under this section avail-
able to the public as soon as practicable after conducting 
each such survey or assessment. 
(d) IMPROVEMENT.—In carrying out this section, the 
Under Secretary shall carry out the following: 
(1) Examine the role of uncrewed aerial and 
marine systems in data collection during post-storm 
surveys and assessments conducted under this sec-
tion. 
(2) Identify gaps in tactics and procedures and 
update such tactics and procedures to enhance the 
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efficiency and reliability of data obtained from post- 
storm surveys and assessments. 
(3) To the maximum extent practicable, in-
crease the number of post-storm community impact 
studies, particularly among underobserved, under-
served, or highly vulnerable populations, including 
by carrying out the following: 
(A) Surveying individual responses. 
(B) Conducting reviews of the accuracy of 
prior risk evaluations. 
(C) Evaluating the efficacy of prior mitiga-
tion activity. 
(D) Gathering survivability statistics. 
(4) As appropriate, integrate community-based, 
social, behavioral, risk, communication, and eco-
nomic sciences elements into existing post-storm sur-
veys and assessments, including elements related to 
the efficacy of forecast and warning information that 
was shared with the public, barriers that affected 
the ability of the public to take action, and any chal-
lenges with respect to messaging about the haz-
ardous weather or water event at issue. 
(e) SUPPORT
FOR EMPLOYEES.—The Under Sec-
retary shall provide training, resources, and access to pro-
fessional counseling to support the emotional and mental 
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health and well-being of employees conducting post-storm 
surveys and assessments under this section. 
(f) EXEMPTION.—Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 
44, United States Code, shall not apply to the collection 
of information during a survey or assessment conducted 
under subsection (a). 
SEC. 407. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT 
ON ALERT DISSEMINATION FOR HAZARDOUS 
WEATHER OR WATER EVENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology of the House of Representatives a report that ex-
amines the information technology infrastructure of the 
National Weather Service, specifically regarding the sys-
tem for timely public notification via alerts and updates 
regarding hazardous weather or water events. 
(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, in-
cluding software and hardware capabilities and limi-
tations, including an examination of server and data 
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storage methods, broadband, data management, and 
data sharing. 
(2) An identification of secondary and tertiary 
fail-safes for the timely distribution to the public of 
notifications via alerts and updates regarding haz-
ardous weather or water events. 
(3) A determination of the extent to which pub-
lic notifications via alerts and updates regarding 
hazardous weather or water events have been de-
layed and an identification of possible improvements 
or corrective measures to address latency in the noti-
fication process. 
(4) An assessment of whether collaboration with 
other Federal departments and agencies, 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 public notification via 
alerts and updates for hazardous weather or water 
events that may be vulnerable to disruption or fail-
ure in the event of communication, technologic, or 
computational failure. 
(6) The geographical differences in availability 
and effectiveness of rural systems, including an esti-
mated number of rural areas affected by unreliable 
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or unavailable systems and barriers to obtain or up-
grade such systems. 
SEC. 408. DATA COLLECTION MANAGEMENT AND PROTEC-
TION. 
(a) DATA COLLECTION.—The Under Secretary may 
collect social, behavioral, and economic data, including 
data relating to Federal communication of hazardous 
weather or water events and the public response to such 
communications. Where appropriate, the Under Secretary 
shall encourage the collection of secondary data, purchase 
data, or partner with the private sector to obtain data. 
(b) DATA MANAGEMENT.—The Under Secretary 
shall establish and maintain a central repository system 
for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
for data related to the communication of and related pub-
lic response to hazardous weather or water events, includ-
ing data developed or received pursuant to this title. 
(c) PROTECTION OF DATA.—The Under Secretary 
shall ensure that data is collected, managed, and used by 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 
accordance with legal, regulatory, and contractual obliga-
tions, including chapter 31 of title 44, United States Code, 
and the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking 
Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–435). 
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(d) DIGITAL WATERMARKING.—The Under Secretary 
shall develop methods to reduce the likelihood of unauthor-
ized tampering with online public notifications of haz-
ardous weather or water events, such as developing digital 
watermarks. 
(e) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—The Under Sec-
retary shall establish policies and procedures for the collec-
tion, archiving, and managing of data related to commu-
nity response, including the response of effected or vulner-
able populations, to hazardous weather or water events. 
TITLE V—IMPROVING WEATHER 
INFORMATION 
FOR 
AGRI-
CULTURE AND WATER MAN-
AGEMENT 
SEC. 501. WEATHER AND CLIMATE INFORMATION IN AGRI-
CULTURE AND WATER MANAGEMENT. 
Section 1762 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (15 
U.S.C. 8521) is amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 
carry out the following: 
‘‘(A) Conduct and support research to im-
prove understanding of subseasonal-to-seasonal 
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predictability for temperature, precipitation, 
and other Earth system variables and applica-
tions. 
‘‘(B) Collect and use data to make usable, 
reliable, and timely foundational forecasts of 
subseasonal-to-seasonal temperature and pre-
cipitation. 
‘‘(C) Support the advancement of multi- 
model ensemble forecast systems and forecast 
verification and evaluation capacity, including 
by carrying out the following: 
‘‘(i) Developing advanced coupled data 
assimilation methods using robust Earth 
system observational data. 
‘‘(ii) Developing improved coupled 
subseasonal-to-seasonal 
ensemble 
pre-
diction systems. 
‘‘(iii) Improving exchanges and inter-
actions between datasets across different 
models and Earth system observations to 
increase model accuracy of local relation-
ships between and drivers of ocean, land, 
snow, and ice observations. 
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‘‘(iv) Developing data management 
strategies to support operations and re-
search activities. 
‘‘(D) Leverage existing research and mod-
els from the weather and Earth system enter-
prises to improve the forecasts under subpara-
graph (B). 
‘‘(E) Accelerate the operationalization of 
emerging modeling technologies developed to 
support and assist the cross-development of 
fully coupled subseasonal-to-seasonal forecast 
systems, including during collaborations with 
other agencies and entities. 
‘‘(F) Determine and provide information 
on how subseasonal-to-seasonal temperature 
and precipitation may relate to the following: 
‘‘(i) Droughts. 
‘‘(ii) Fires. 
‘‘(iii) Tornadoes. 
‘‘(iv) Hurricanes. 
‘‘(v) Floods, storm surges, and coastal 
inundation. 
‘‘(vi) Heat waves and marine heat 
waves. 
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‘‘(vii) Winter storms, snowpack, and 
permafrost thaw. 
‘‘(viii) Sea ice conditions. 
‘‘(ix) Other high-impact weather or 
relevant weather disasters.’’; 
(2) by amending subsection (h) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(h) 
SUBSEASONAL-TO-SEASONAL
FORECASTING 
PILOT PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Under Secretary 
shall establish within the United States Weather Re-
search Program of the Office of Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Research of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration not fewer than two pilot 
projects, in accordance with paragraph (2), to sup-
port improved subseasonal-to-seasonal precipitation 
forecasts for the following: 
‘‘(A) Water management in areas of the 
United States in which there is— 
‘‘(i) a high level of drought; and 
‘‘(ii) a reliance on reservoirs for water 
storage. 
‘‘(B) Agriculture in the central United 
States. 
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‘‘(2) OBJECTIVES.—In carrying out this sub-
section, the Under Secretary shall ensure the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) A pilot project under subparagraph 
(A) of paragraph (1) addresses key science 
challenges to improving forecasts and devel-
oping related products for water management, 
including the following: 
‘‘(i) Improving operational model reso-
lution, both horizontal and vertical, to re-
solve issues associated with mountainous 
terrain, such as intensity of precipitation 
and relative fraction of rain versus snow 
precipitation. 
‘‘(ii) Improving modeling of interstate 
or cross-boundary water movement and 
storage through rivers, tributaries, and 
aquifers with relation to water availability. 
‘‘(iii) Improving fidelity in the oper-
ational modeling of the atmospheric bound-
ary layer in mountainous regions. 
‘‘(iv) Resolving challenges in pre-
dicting winter atmospheric circulation and 
storm tracks, including periods of blocked 
versus unblocked flow over the eastern 
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North Pacific Ocean and western United 
States. 
‘‘(v) Utilizing outcomes from the at-
mospheric rivers forecast improvement pro-
gram under section 204 of the Weather 
Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 and the 
precipitation forecast improvement pro-
gram under section 603 of the Weather 
Research and Forecasting Innovation Act 
of 2017 to produce operational tools and 
services. 
‘‘(vi) Improving the quality and tem-
poral and spatial resolution of observations 
and accurate operational modeling of air- 
sea interactions, and the influence of 
oceans on subseasonal and seasonal fore-
casting. 
‘‘(B) A pilot project under subparagraph 
(B) of paragraph (1) addresses key science 
challenges to improving forecasts and devel-
oping related products for agriculture in the 
central United States, including the following: 
‘‘(i) Improving the quality and tem-
poral and spatial resolution of observations 
and accurate operational modeling of the 
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