I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3915 
To improve the National Weather Service’s forecasting of turbulence and 
acquisition of aviation weather data, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 7, 2023 
Mr. MCCORMICK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To improve the National Weather Service’s forecasting of 
turbulence and acquisition of aviation weather data, 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 ‘‘Aviation Weather Im-
provement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AVIATION WEATHER AND DATA INNOVATION. 
(a) PROGRAM.—The Director of the National Weath-
er Service shall maintain an aircraft-based observation 
program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘program’’) 
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to partner with the weather industry for the deployment 
on aircraft of critical atmospheric sensors. 
(b) ACTIVITIES.—The program shall include activi-
ties that carry out the following: 
(1) Procurement of weather data from commer-
cial aircraft, including Mode S data, water vapor 
data, or data from Aircraft Meteorological Data 
Relay or Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data 
Reporting systems. 
(2) Acquisition of additional vertical profile ob-
servations that provide the spatial and temporal den-
sity required for numerical weather prediction sys-
tems. 
(c) BUDGET.—The Director of the National Weather 
Service shall, not less frequently than annually, submit to 
Congress a proposed budget corresponding with the activi-
ties described in subsection (b). 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to appropriated to the Operations, Research, 
and Facilities account of the National Weather Service up 
to $10,000,000 for each fiscal years 2024 through 2028 
to carry out this section. 
(e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘weather 
industry’’ has the meaning given such term in section 2 
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of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act 
of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501). 
SEC. 3. AVIATION WEATHER AND TURBULENCE FORE-
CASTING COORDINATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Weather Service shall include turbulence events or phe-
nomena in the forecasting capabilities of the National 
Weather Service’s Aviation Weather Center, and deliver 
consistent, timely, and accurate weather and turbulence 
information for the world airspace system and the protec-
tion of lives and property. 
(b) COORDINATION.—In carrying out subsection (a), 
the Director of the National Weather Service shall coordi-
nate with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration to improve weather and turbulence fore-
casting capabilities, including the following: 
(1) Establishing within the Federal Government 
an interagency working group to determine weather 
and environmental data or observation requirements, 
needs, and potential solutions related to aviation 
weather and turbulence forecasting. 
(2) Identifying current and future potential 
data gaps related to turbulence events or phenomena 
that can— 
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(A) identify or inform route specific flight 
planning; and 
(B) be supplemented or filled by commer-
cial aviation tools. 
(3) Transitioning research initiatives and pilot 
programs, including a pilot program of instrumenta-
tion for observing greenhouse gases and other at-
mospheric factors deployed on commercial aircraft 
and supporting the evaluation of a sustained observ-
ing network using such platforms, into operations 
that improve the forecasting missions of the Aviation 
Weather Center. 
SEC. 4. NEXT GENERATION AVIATION RESEARCH. 
Paragraph (3) of section 102(b) of the Weather Re-
search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 
8512(b)), is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and 
(G) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(F) aviation weather, contrails, atmos-
pheric composition, and turbulence events or 
phenomena to improve scientific understanding 
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and forecast capabilities for the world airspace 
system;’’. 
Æ 
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