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; Extreme weather creating greater impacts: December’s atmospheric rivers dumped 5 trillion gallons of rain on WA, and 73 landslides were recorded

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, 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 U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee.

“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. “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.”

Atmospheric River Forecasting Improvements:

The Weather Act would establish an atmospheric river forecast improvement program to advance accurate, effective, and actionable forecasts and warnings for atmospheric rivers. It also enables NOAA to improve atmospheric river hazard communication.

The bill would require NOAA to maintain and improve how the National Weather Service and other federal partners like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) support emergency managers and communicate potential hazardous weather or water events to the public. It also directs NOAA to upgrade outdated weather radio technology to provide reliable and continuous weather and emergency alerts, expanding coverage to 98-99% of the United States. Despite the State of Washington having 17 National Weather Radio transmitters, large gaps in coverage remain.

December’s atmospheric rivers dumped five trillion gallons of rain across the state and caused devastating floods. In the western United States, atmospheric rivers account for 84% of flood damages costing approximately $1.1 billion a year, and in King County, atmospheric rivers are responsible for 97% of flood damages.

Landslide Preparedness Improvements:

The bill would require the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and NOAA to incorporate risks from atmospheric rivers into landslide preparedness and response planning. It would expand the National Landslide Hazards Database to cover areas needing additional landslide risk assessments due to factors such as hydrological changes and atmospheric river flooding. It includes funding for the purchase and deployment of landslide early warning systems in high-risk area.

In December 2025 at least 73 landslides were reported after the atmospheric river event and there were likely many more that went undocumented. Some of these blocked critical transportation corridors for days on end. A section of U.S. 2 near Leavenworth was closed for weeks due to flood damage. A main road in the town of Stehekin remains flooded.

Fire Weather Forecasting & Fighting Improvements:

The bill would establish an official Fire Weather Services Program within NOAA. The bill would fund the research and acquisition of new technology to improve forecasts of wildfire conditions. It would also create a Fire Weather Testbed to deploy new tools to fight fires, including a pilot program for unmanned aircraft to gather data such as chemical information and survey damage. It would ensure that meteorologists in the field receive fair compensation for longer-term deployments.

The bill would also establish a NOAA program to coordinate agencies’ activities and ensure a united Federal approach to reducing health risks to human health from heat and improve the delivery of data, forecasts, and warnings, related to extreme heat to help protect communities.

Wildfires burn thousands of acres in the state of Washington every year. In 2025, 251,840 acres burned and 1,851 ignitions were documented through October. A recent high of 842,358 acres burned during the 2020 season with at least 181 homes lost.

Drought Monitoring Tool Improvements:

The bill directs the National Integrated Drought Information System to advance and deploy next generation drought monitoring technologies and use observations from state or regional hydrological monitoring projects. The bill 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 extended range precipitation forecasts for agriculture and water management.

Large portions of the State of Washington remain in moderate to severe drought, primarily due to snowpack deficits. Low precipitation and snowpack threaten irrigation water supplies, agriculture, and summer stream flows, which depend heavily on gradual snowmelt.

“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.

“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.

“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.

Complete Highlights of the Legislation Include:

Enhancing 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 US, especially across the West coast.
Directs the National Weather Service to include turbulence events and icing conditions in their 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.

Strengthening 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.

Modernizing 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.

Supporting 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 sub-seasonal 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.

Expanding 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.

Preparing 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

Read the bill text HERE.

Sen. Cantwell continues to insist on deploying the best technology to help our weather forecasters. Last year, Senator Cantwell called out the Administration’s decision to cancel its plan to launch a large-scale test of a new advanced weather radar technology, called Phased Array Radar.

Committee passage of the bill is another important next step to Sen. Cantwell’s 5 Point Plan to bolster the United States’ weather readiness, which she outlined in a letter to President Donald Trump in July of last year.

WATCH:

Face The Nation: Sen. Cantwell Urges More Federal Investment in Weather Forecasting