Title I - United States Weather Research and Forecasting Improvement
Sec. 101 - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is required to prioritize weather research to improve weather data, modeling, computing, and forecasting, and warnings to protect life and property. Sec. 102 - NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research is required to conduct a program to improve understanding of forecasting capabilities and impacts of atmospheric events. In carrying out the program, the OAR must provide competitive grants, contracts, and agreements to support the nonfederal weather research community. Sec. 103 - The NOAA is required to establish a tornado warning improvement and extension program and develop better forecasts, predictions, and warnings. Sec. 104 - Through the National Weather Service, the NOAA is required to maintain a project to improve hurricane forecasting. The program must advance the prediction of rapid intensification and track of hurricanes, the forecast and communication of storm surges from hurricanes, and risk communication research to create more effective watch and warning products. Sec. 105 - The OAR must issue a research/development operations plan to restore and maintain U.S. leadership in numerical weather prediction and forecasting. Sec. 106 - The NOAA is required to prioritize observation data requirements key to ensuring weather forecasting capabilities, evaluating data and information to meet those requirements, identify data gaps, and determine options to address those gaps. Sec. 107 - The OAR must launch the Observing System Simulation Experiments. OSSEs must be conducted before acquisition of any government-owned or government-leased observing systems costing more than $500 million and before buying any new commercially provided data costing over $500 million. Sec. 108 - The NOAA must provide an annual report on computing priorities and upgrades that relate to weather prediction. Sec. 109 - The U.S. Weather Research Program must report annually to Congress about on-going research projects related to observations, weather, or subseasonal forecasts closest to operationalization, establish teams with staff from the OAR and the NWS to oversee the research projects, develop mechanisms for research priorities, develop a system to track research goals, provide testing facilities, and facilitate visiting scholars. Sec. 110 - OAR's weather laboratories, cooperative institutes, and weather and air chemistry research programs and joint technology transfer initiative are authorized through Fiscal Year 2018.
Title II - Subseasonal and Seasonal Forecasting Innovation
Sec. 201 - The NWS is required to collect and utilize information to make reliable forecasts of subseasonal and seasonal temperatures and precipitation.
