The House approved legislation on Tuesday aimed at bringing government weather forecasting into the modern age and increasing reliance on the private sector to save money and lives.
With bipartisan support, the bill, the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017, has passed both chambers of Congress and now moves on to President Trump’s desk. It seeks to improve the forecasting ability of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the National Weather Service. The bill has a particular emphasis on extreme weather, including working on tornado warning and hurricane forecast improvement, and weather satellite and data innovation.
“It is no secret that many people in our weather community are distraught that our forecasting capacities have deteriorated in recent years,” said Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., who introduced the House version of the bill.
I’m proud the House & Senate passed my bill to strengthen our country’s commitment to severe weather forecasting https://t.co/UX6YXru2Ln pic.twitter.com/LmPONjOSIq
— Frank Lucas (@RepFrankLucas) April 4, 2017
Lucas said the bill includes a pilot program in which the agency will “engage” private sector data. He said the private sector offers a way to not only reduce costs but also “dramatically improve our weather forecasting system.”
Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, also praised the bill’s embrace of the private sector for new technologies and weather solutions in order to protect lives and property.
“This bill gives NOAA a clear vision and allows them the flexibility to buy new, affordable, and potentially better sources of data,” Smith said. “With more and better options, we can finally make needed improvements to our weather forecasting capabilities. I look forward to the president signing this critical legislation so that we can make our weather industry great again.”
According to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the bill is the first major weather legislation in over two decades and takes into account the needs of business and community leaders, looking for further research into subseasonal to seasonal weather patterns prediction.
“This landmark legislation will save lives and property while providing business leaders with critical intelligence,” said Antonio Busalacchi, president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. “Today’s bipartisan vote underscores the enduring value of scientific research to our nation.”
Subseasonal is defined as the time range between two weeks and three months. The effort to improve long-range forecasting is a victory for Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who proposed the Senate version of the bill. He presented the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2016 with the hope of creating “long-term forecasting that can prevent costly agricultural losses to more actionable information about severe weather, this legislation will help save lives and reduce avoidable property loss.” A version of that legislation passed both houses of Congress but never got former President Barack Obama’s signature.
