S. 324

Congressional Research Service summary, version: Introduced in Senate (Jan 29, 2025)

Smarter Weather Forecasting for Water Management, Farming, and Ranching Act of 2025

This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish pilot projects to support improved subseasonal to seasonal precipitation forecasting for water management in the western United States and for agriculture nationwide. (Under current law, subseasonal means the time range between two weeks and three months, and seasonal means the time range between three months and two years.)

Specifically, NOAA must establish a pilot project to address challenges to improving forecasting and related product development for water management in the western United States. The project must address, among other items, improvements to operational modeling in mountainous regions and to the forecasting of atmospheric rivers.

NOAA must also establish a second pilot project to address challenges to improving forecasting and related product development for U.S. agriculture. The project must address, among other items, improvements to operational modeling of warm-season precipitation and to the prediction of certain spring and summer weather patterns.

Each pilot project must include activities that engage with and leverage the resources of academic institutions and entities within NOAA, and that achieve measurable objectives for operational forecast improvement. NOAA’s authority with respect to these pilot projects expires five years after the bill’s enactment.