Sec. 603. National Mesonet Program
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/bill/117/hr/2153/ih/section-603A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds that— since the initial establishment of a private-public partnership demonstration program, the National Mesonet Program has leveraged data collected by existing weather station networks to— provide accurate, real-time observation for weather forecasters and emergency response personnel in metropolitan areas across the United States; address persistent impediments, identified in a National Academy of Sciences Report released in 2009, to fulfill the need for broader and denser weather observation networks to improve severe weather lead-times; achieve major improvements for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the broader American Weather Enterprise, despite some significant development issues and cost overruns, according to a National Academy of Sciences Report released in 2011; increase the amount of non-Federal weather data available to government by orders of magnitude; and improve understanding of the impact, the size and duration of mesoscale weather events; and the National Mesonet Program is a critical component of agency operations and provides reliable, real-time prediction and observation capabilities for the physical environment that enhances response and prevention strategies to severe weather events.
The National Weather Service shall carry out the National Mesonet Program under law to improve understanding of and forecast capabilities for atmospheric events, placing priority on leveraging available commercial and other non-Federal weather data to enhance coordination across the private, public, and academic sectors of the American weather enterprise. The program described in subsection
(b)shall focus on the following activities: Improving the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service’s ability to provide the baseline forecasts and warnings that protect the Nation’s citizens, businesses, military, and government agencies and enable them to operate and perform in safe, efficient, and orderly manners. Yielding significant amounts of boundary-layer data to result in dramatic improvements in numerical weather prediction performance. Providing the critical technical and administrative infrastructure needed to facilitate rapid integration of new and emerging surface, boundary layer, and space-based networks anticipated in coming years. Utilizing and integrating existing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data, including, but not limited to, National Ocean Service water level stations into existing forecasts. Leveraging existing networks of environmental monitoring stations to dramatically increase the quantity and density of weather observations available to the National Weather Service at a highly cost-effective price. Supporting the National Weather Service in reaching its target of a 30-minute warning time for severe weather through better predictive algorithms driven by increasingly effective observations. Of amounts otherwise made available to the National Weather Service, there are authorized to carry out this section $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, $26,000,000 for fiscal year 2023, $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, $28,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2026, and $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2027.