Does the U.S. Need to Improve its Weather Forecasting Systems? (H.R. 1561)

What is H.R. 1561?

(Updated July 26, 2018)

This bill authorizes $120 million (for 2016 and 2017 respectively) to improve forecasting of severe weather events. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would be responsible for improving forecasting and for managing other related programs and research.

First, the bill tasks the Office of Atmospheric Research (OAR) with running a program to increase public understanding and response to weather forecasts and warnings. The program would study things like how people currently interpret and use forecasts. It would also research how to improve and more widely distribute new forecast technology. A working group to improve the NOAA's forecasting ability would also be created.

Programs to improve and expand tornado and hurricane warning systems would be developed. It also charges the Assistant Administrator for OAR with coming up with a research plan every six months, while the the NOAA’s Chief Information Officer would have to make a report on how their agency will use technological advancements to improve forecasts. Meanwhile, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere reevaluate what scientists observe to make forecasts.

The bill also amends existing law so that commercial providers can buy weather information from U.S. satellites, or place their own weather-detecting equipment on U.S. satellites. Accordingly, the Secretary of Commerce will give the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a strategy on public-private cooperation in spreading weather data.

Finally, there are several measures within this bill aimed at increasing coordination between agencies. They include an employee exchange between NWS and OAR, a postdoctoral fellow program at NWS and Inter-agency Committee for Advancing Weather Services, which the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy will establish in order to share weather information among scientific agencies.

Argument in favor

This bill orders a slew of studies and reports on weather to ensure that U.S. scientists are predicting the weather and disseminating information as quickly and accurately as possible. Forecasts are necessary for safety, industry, defense, and infrastructure — fund it.

Argument opposed

This bill orders the National Weather Service and the Office of Atmospheric Research to jump through a bunch of hoops, in addition to their regular jobs. Should our forecasting system be improved? Sure. Does what we have now work? Yes.

Impact

The National Weather Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, people who want to know what it’s like outside.

Cost of H.R. 1561

The CBO estimates that implementing this bill would cost $240 million over the 2016-2020 period.

Additional Info

In-Depth: This bill has bipartisan support, with four Republicans and two Democrats joining Sponsoring Rep. Frank Lucas as its co-sponsors. It’s part of a triumvirate of weather-related bills in this Congress, the others being the giant FEMA bill and another about public alert systems.

More info: Weather, as such, has a reputation for being dull. It’s what you talk about when you don’t know what to say; its devoted TV channel is famously boring. But there’s more at stake here than getting caught without a raincoat or weird beef with minor public figures. According to The Washington Post, the U.S. spent $309 billion dollars on repairs caused by extreme weather from 2008 to 2013.

Media:

• Committee on Science, Space and Technology Press Release
• Washington Post
• The News Courier