Cantwell-Led Bipartisan Legislation to Modernize Weather Forecasting & Research Unanimously Passes Committee

Act would establish an atmospheric river forecast improvement program, strengthen landslide preparedness, establish an official Fire Weather Services Program, and deploy new technology and tools to forecast droughts and heat waves that harm crops

Weather Act "will ensure that America's weather enterprise is nimble, innovative and equipped to meet the evolving challenges of the 21st Century" Cantwell says

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed the bipartisan Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026 which authorizes programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that will strengthen weather research and forecasting to save lives and better prepare our nation against dangerous weather disasters. The legislation is led by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee and Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and co-sponsored by Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.).

"In the State of Washington, we know firsthand how extreme weather has become costly and dangerous," said Sen. Cantwell, who first introduced the Weather Act in 2024, as Chair. "In December, Western Washington endured back-to-back atmospheric rivers that dumped nearly 5 trillion gallons of rain causing massive, devastating floods. Over 70 landslides were reported, blocking major transportation routes, disrupting communities, threatening lives and livelihoods. The devastating floods in Kerrville and Asheville, the fires in Palisades and Lahaina and too many other natural disasters have shown us that providing Americans with more timely and accurate weather information can avoid billions of dollars in property losses and save lives. In 2025 alone, weather disasters cost the United States $115 billion. That is why this bill matters."

"It establishes an atmospheric river forecast improvement program, modernizes hazardous weather alerts, [weather] radio infrastructure…, strengthens landslide preparedness and helps rural farmers plan for drought and bring new tools to better forecast wildfires, hurricanes and heat waves," Sen. Cantwell added before the committee voted to approve the bill. "This legislation advances many of the recommendations in a Five-Point Plan I outlined last year to the President and to NOAA. That plan, we need to continue to make more progress on, but the Weather Act will ensure that America's weather enterprise is nimble, innovative and equipped to meet the evolving challenges of the 21st Century."

The Weather Act would:

Enhance Federal Weather Forecasting and Innovation

• Addresses NOAA's aging radar network by directing the agency to design and deploy the next generation of weather radar technology by 2040. It also authorizes NOAA to manage existing gaps in the current radar network by supplementing weather radar coverage with data, services, and technologies from third parties.
• Establishes an atmospheric river forecast improvement program to develop tools and improved forecast models to address the increasingly frequent and powerful atmospheric rivers impacting the United States, especially across the West coast.
• Directs the National Weather Service to include turbulence events and icing conditions in its forecasting capabilities and establishes an airborne observation program to acquire atmospheric data from commercial aircraft.
• Directs NOAA to improve accuracy and timeliness of weather, water, and space weather forecasts and effective dissemination of critical information using artificial intelligence.
• Creates a project to improve forecasts of coastal marine fog with the goal of enhancing vessel safety and reducing the economic impact of coastal marine fog events.

Strengthen Emergency Preparedness by Improving Communication

• Requires NOAA to maintain and improve the system that communicates potential hazardous weather or water events to the public.
• Requires upgrades to outdated weather radio technology to provide reliable and continuous weather and emergency alerts and expands radio coverage to rural areas that do not currently have access to the National Weather Radio alert system.

Modernize Critical Research Programs

• Updates the Tsunami Forecasting and Warning Program to evaluate tsunami alert levels, maintain fail-safe warning capabilities, and align the analytic techniques and methodologies of the two existing tsunami warning centers in Hawaii and Alaska.
• Builds on the progress of the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project by establishing it as a long-term program that will incorporate social, behavioral, risk, and communication science into modeling, forecasting, and response guidance.
• Expands the goals of the Tornado Warning Improvement and Extension Program to improve the effectiveness and timeliness of tornado forecasts, predictions, and warnings by increasing lead times, improving forecasting, and updating the system to rate the severity of tornadoes in collaboration with local communities and emergency managers.
• Provides funding for weather laboratories; tornado, severe storm, and next generation radar research; and transitioning the latest scientific and technological advances into operations.

Support Farmers and Ranchers with Better Tools for Agriculture and Water Management

• Directs the National Integrated Drought Information System to advance and deploy next-generation drought monitoring technologies and transition existing drought products to probabilistic forecasts, as well as use observations from State or regional hydrological monitoring projects.
• Reauthorizes the National Weather Service's work to provide agricultural and silvicultural weather and climate information and directs NOAA to establish at least two pilot projects to support improved subseasonal to seasonal extended range precipitation forecasts for agriculture and water management.
• Codifies and authorizes the National Mesonet Program, a network of automated weather stations that are used to monitor and observe weather events and microclimates. The program is directed to obtain observations to improve understanding of and forecast capabilities for atmospheric, drought, fire, and water events and increase the quantity and density of environmental observations.

Expand Commercial Data Partnerships

• Increases NOAA's access to critical forecasting data by expanding its authority to contract with the private sector to acquire commercial weather data.
• Codifies the Commercial Data Program to coordinate and acquire a variety of weather and environmental data and services from the private sector for operational use.
• Modifies the existing commercial data pilot program to be a testing program within the Commercial Data Program, and authorizes the program to test and evaluate all sources and types of observation services, imagery, products, and data from private sector entities.

Prepare for Disasters

• Establishes within NOAA an interagency committee to coordinate agencies' activities and ensure a united Federal approach to reducing health risks from heat, as well as a NOAA system to improve the delivery of data, information, forecasts, warnings, prediction, and projections related to temperature and extreme heat.
• Improves the monitoring, forecasting, prevention, and mitigation of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia that threaten aquatic ecosystems, hurt local economies, and endanger public health by reauthorizing and amending the National Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Program. Establishes a national harmful algal bloom observing network and a national incubator program and increases the avenues of assistance NOAA can provide to affected communities.
• Requires the national landslide strategy to include an assessment of risks from atmospheric river flooding and extreme precipitation events and expands the National Landslide Hazards Database to cover areas needing further risk assessment due to factors such as hydrological changes and atmospheric river flooding

Sen. Cantwell's bipartisan Tsunami Warning, Research and Education Act also passed as part of the Weather Act.

"Western Governors have long advocated for the improvement of forecasting abilities for weather and natural disasters, as evidenced by their efforts that led to the creation of the National Integrated Drought Information System. Western Governors are encouraged by several provisions within the Weather Act which enhance and reauthorize drought monitoring, fire weather and disaster forecasting, water quality maintenance, and soil moisture sensing. These programs are critical to enhancing the security and prosperity of the West's communities and economies. WGA applauds the efforts of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to advance the Weather Act through Congress and encourages the full Senate to swiftly consider the legislation." - Jack Waldorf, Executive Director, Western Governors' Association.

"Communities across the country are already experiencing more extreme storms, flooding, drought, and heat-and the costs of inaction continue to rise. The Weather Act Reauthorization Act strengthens the nation's weather enterprise so scientific advances move more quickly from the lab to forecasts, helping emergency managers, farmers, and families make informed decisions when it matters most. AGU strongly supports this bipartisan effort to ensure science continues to protect public safety, support economic stability, and build national resilience." - Janice Lachance, Executive Director/CEO, American Geophysical Union.

"The American Meteorological Society strongly supports all efforts intended to improve the ability to save lives, protect property, and enhance economic opportunities. Investments in observing systems and the forecasting of environmental phenomena will further grow the value of weather and climate information to the U.S. economy, already exceeding $100 billion annually. A strong weather enterprise is essential to U.S. economic leadership." - Alan Sealls, President, American Meteorological Society.

"This bill has the potential to greatly improve people's lives on an everyday basis, as it will lead to advances in many areas-- from observations and modeling to warnings and decision support-- to reduce loss of life and property from extreme weather. It also will accelerate innovations in uncrewed observations and artificial intelligence/machine learning-enabled forecasting by directing NOAA to coordinate across federal, academic, and private partners as well as prioritize measurable forecast improvements for high-impact hazards, including atmospheric rivers, coastal flooding and storm surge, and extreme heat." - Shuyi Chen, Professor of Meteorology at the University of Washington.

The Weather Act is an important component of Sen. Cantwell's 5 Point Plan to bolster U.S. weather readiness, which she outlined in a letter to President Donald Trump in July, 2025. Earlier this year, she introduced legislation to establish the Radar Next Program which will carry out deployment of the nation's next generation weather radar system. Last August, she introduced legislation to modernize the nation's weather communication and radio service as the country faces increasingly powerful floods, fires, and hurricanes. Both of these bills also passed as part of today's vote.

Sen. Cantwell helped secure $3.3 billion in NOAA investments in the Inflation Reduction Act to help communities prepare for and adapt to climate change, boost science needed to understand changing weather and climate patterns, and invest in advanced computer technologies that are critical for extreme weather prediction and emergency response. Her Fire Ready Nation Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen NOAA's ability to help forecast, prevent, and fight wildfires, passed the Senate in September of last year.

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