I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4791
To authorize appropriations for the United States Weather Research
Program, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 22, 2002
Mr. EHLERS (for himself and Mr. ETHERIDGE) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Science
A BILL
To authorize appropriations for the United States Weather
Research Program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Weather
Research Program Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. PROGRAM FOCUS.
The focus of the United States Weather Research
Program, an interagency program established under sec-
tion 108 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
istration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 313 note),
shall be on—
(1) hurricanes, floods, and heavy precipitation,
including both snow and rain;
(2) building on existing investments, including
those of the National Weather Service modernization
effort, to dramatically accelerate improvement in
weather forecasts;
(3) providing attention and resources in areas
where progress can be made quickly and where the
impact will be greatest;
(4) establishing goals that can be attained by
leveraging the resources of several agencies and
through the collaborative scientific efforts of the
operational and research communities in academia
and government; and
(5) making research grants to universities and
other research institutions.
SEC. 3. PROGRAM RESEARCH PRIORITIES.
The research priorities of the United States Weather
Research Program shall be in the areas of—
(1) hurricanes, to improve—
(A) landfall location forecasts; and
(B) forecasts of hurricane strength;
(2) heavy precipitation, to improve forecasts of
both winter storms and rain storms through better
prediction of timing, location, and intensity;
(3) floods, to improve—
(A) flood forecasting by coupling precipita-
tion forecasts with hydrologic prediction; and
(B) forecasting and warning systems for
inland flooding related to tropical cyclones,
by—
(i) improving the capability to accu-
rately forecast such flooding through re-
search and modeling;
(ii) developing, testing, and deploying
a new flood warning index that will give
the public and emergency management
professionals fuller, clear, and more accu-
rate information about the risks and dan-
gers posed by expected tropical cyclone-re-
lated inland flooding;
(iii) training emergency management
officials, National Weather Service per-
sonnel, meteorologists, and others as ap-
propriate regarding improved forecasting
techniques for such flooding, risk manage-
ment techniques, and use of the inland
flood warning index developed under clause
(ii); and
(iv) conducting outreach and edu-
cation activities for local meteorologists
and the public regarding the dangers and
risks associated with tropical cyclone-re-
lated inland flooding and the use and un-
derstanding of the inland flood warning
index developed under clause (ii);
(4) two-to-fourteen day forecasting, to—
(A) improve short and medium range nu-
merical weather predictions and warnings of
high-impact weather events;
(B) conduct the Hemispheric Observing
System Research and Predictability Experiment
(THORpex) to fill observational gaps in the
Northern Hemisphere; and
(C) test and evaluate advanced data as-
similation techniques in global models;
(5) societal and economic impacts, to—
(A) identify methods of delivering weather
information effectively and recommend ways to
improve weather communications;
(B) assess social and economic impacts of
adverse weather ranging from disastrous to rou-
tine;
(C) evaluate what weather information is
most useful to public and private decision mak-
ers; and
(D) perform research on societal and eco-
nomic impact to ensure a connection between
weather research and improvement of the
human condition; and
(6) testing research concepts at United States
Weather Research Program-sponsored test bed cen-
ters in an environment identical to those used by
operational meteorologists, to enable technology
transfer to those operational meteorologists.
SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY PLANNING AND PROCESS.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion, as the lead agency of the United States Weather Re-
search Program, shall coordinate and consult with the Na-
tional Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, other appropriate Federal agencies,
and other appropriate entities to develop, and annually up-
date, a five-year plan—
(1) describing how Federal agencies can best
team with universities and other research institu-
tions;
(2) identifying social, economic, and military
needs and requirements for weather information, as
well as defining the research required to meet these
needs;
(3) outlining methods for dissemination of
weather information to user communities; and
(4) describing best practices for transferring
United States Weather Research Program research
results to forecasting operations.
SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Adminis-
trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration shall transmit to the Committee on Science of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report
which shall include—
(1) the most recent five-year plan developed or
updated under section 4, including the roles and
funding to be provided by various Federal agencies
in achieving the objectives of the plan;
(2) a justification of any changes to the plan
since the last transmittal under this section;
(3) a detailed assessment of the extent to which
the objectives of the plan have been achieved; and
(4) a description of the research activities car-
ried out under section 3(3)(B), along with an anal-
ysis of the success and acceptance of the inland
flood 
warning 
index 
developed 
under 
section
3(3)(B)(ii) by the public and emergency manage-
ment professionals.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Office of Atmospheric Research of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for car-
rying out this Act—
(1) for fiscal year 2003, $15,000,000, of which
$1,150,000 shall be for the purposes described in
section 3(3)(B);
(2) for fiscal year 2004, $15,525,000, of which
$1,200,000 shall be for the purposes described in
section 3(3)(B); and
(3) for fiscal year 2005, $16,100,000, of which
$1,250,000 shall be for the purposes described in
section 3(3)(B).