Sponsors (2)
This bill funds expanded weather observations, localized forecasts, and decision‑support tools that can reduce loss of life and improve infrastructure resilience, but it requires new federal spending and targeted support to ensure the benefits are equitably realized and clearly communicated.
Homeowners, coastal, urban, and rural communities: will receive more accurate, probabilistic forecasts for floods, storm surge, extreme rainfall, and urban heat—improving lead time for evacuations and reducing risk to life and property.
Local, state, and Tribal emergency managers and officials: will gain better localized weather data and decision‑support tools to improve response, planning, and long‑term risk management.
Residents in under‑observed and underserved areas: will get improved observations and forecasts (including mesonet data, extreme rainfall, and urban heat mapping), closing gaps in warning coverage.
Taxpayers and the federal budget: implementing expanded sensors, model upgrades, pilots, and additional staffing will require new federal spending and could increase taxpayer costs or divert funds from other priorities.
Rural, Tribal, and smaller local jurisdictions: may lack capacity to use or sustain advanced sensors and forecasts without extra support, risking unequal access to benefits.
Residents and local officials: probabilistic forecasts could be misinterpreted or cause confusion if communication and preparedness efforts are not well coordinated, reducing effectiveness of warnings.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Directs NOAA to establish programs and pilots to improve coastal flood/storm surge forecasts, expand regional observations, and accelerate local use of weather data, with a 180-day plan and annual budget proposals.
Introduced June 5, 2025 by Thomas Kean · Last progress June 5, 2025
Creates a NOAA-led coastal flooding and storm surge forecast improvement program that partners with the U.S. weather industry, academia, USGS, NWS, and FEMA to improve forecasts, observations, models, warnings, and community response. Requires a program plan within 180 days, prioritizes six technical and community-focused activities, directs annual budget proposals to Congress, and establishes interagency pilot projects to expand regional observations and make localized weather data and decision support more useful to state and local officials and critical infrastructure owners.