Improving Flood and Agricultural Forecasts Act of 2025
INTRO FEB 13· LAST ACTION FEB 13
READING
8MIN
COSPONSORS
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READER REACTIONS0 TOTAL
NO VOTES YET · BE THE FIRST
Introduced only
LEGISLATIVE PROGRESS
STEP 2 / 8
Introduced
In Committee
Reported
Passed Senate
Passed House
Conference
To President
Became Law
WHAT THE BILL DOES
AI-written
Voters should care about this bill because accurate weather forecasting directly impacts their safety, their wallets, and their daily lives. Better predictions for floods, droughts, and severe storms mean more time to prepare for emergencies, potentially protecting homes, businesses, and lives. For farmers, more precise agricultural forecasts can save crops and reduce economic losses, which can then affect food prices and availability for consumers. Furthermore, better road weather information can improve transportation safety and efficiency.
If this bill becomes law, it aims to create a more comprehensive and coordinated system for gathering environmental data from a wider array of sources, potentially leading to more reliable and localized weather information for everyone. If it doesn't become law, the National Mesonet Program might not receive the explicit mandate or funding to expand and integrate diverse data sources as extensively, potentially leaving gaps in critical forecasting capabilities and delaying improvements in weather preparedness across the country.
KEY PROVISIONS
4AI-extracted
PROVISION 01
Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to maintain and strengthen the National Mesonet Program.
Ensures continued federal support and development for a program vital for comprehensive environmental data collection and forecasting.
PROVISION 02
Prioritizes leveraging commercial, academic, and other non-Federal environmental data to improve forecasts for atmospheric, drought, fire, and water events.
Expands the breadth and detail of data available for forecasting by including diverse sources beyond federal government collection, fostering collaboration.
PROVISION 03
Establishes annual goals to integrate more dense and diverse environmental observations, including encouraging local and regional networks with soil moisture and ground-based sensors to participate.
Aims for more precise and localized weather and environmental data, which is crucial for specific applications like agricultural planning, severe weather warnings, and understanding climate patterns.
PROVISION 04
Authorizes financial and technical assistance for State, Tribal, private, and academic entities to build, expand, or upgrade their mesonet systems, especially in underserved or remote areas.
Provides incentives and resources for non-federal partners to contribute valuable data, helping to close observational gaps and expand critical weather monitoring infrastructure.
Voters should care about this bill because accurate weather forecasting directly impacts their safety, their wallets, and their daily lives. Better predictions for floods, droughts, and severe storms mean more time to prepare for emergencies, potentially protecting homes, businesses, and lives. For farmers, more precise agricultural forecasts can save crops and reduce economic losses, which can then affect food prices and availability for consumers. Furthermore, better road weather information can improve transportation safety and efficiency.
If this bill becomes law, it aims to create a more comprehensive and coordinated system for gathering environmental data from a wider array of sources, potentially leading to more reliable and localized weather information for everyone. If it doesn't become law, the National Mesonet Program might not receive the explicit mandate or funding to expand and integrate diverse data sources as extensively, potentially leaving gaps in critical forecasting capabilities and delaying improvements in weather preparedness across the country.
KEY PROVISIONS
AI-extracted
high
Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to maintain and strengthen the National Mesonet Program.
Ensures continued federal support and development for a program vital for comprehensive environmental data collection and forecasting.
high
Prioritizes leveraging commercial, academic, and other non-Federal environmental data to improve forecasts for atmospheric, drought, fire, and water events.
Expands the breadth and detail of data available for forecasting by including diverse sources beyond federal government collection, fostering collaboration.
high
Establishes annual goals to integrate more dense and diverse environmental observations, including encouraging local and regional networks with soil moisture and ground-based sensors to participate.
Aims for more precise and localized weather and environmental data, which is crucial for specific applications like agricultural planning, severe weather warnings, and understanding climate patterns.
med
Authorizes financial and technical assistance for State, Tribal, private, and academic entities to build, expand, or upgrade their mesonet systems, especially in underserved or remote areas.
Provides incentives and resources for non-federal partners to contribute valuable data, helping to close observational gaps and expand critical weather monitoring infrastructure.
Not less than 15 percent of the amount appropriated for the Program
Financial assistance for State, Tribal, private, and academic entities to build, expand, or upgrade mesonet systems
discretionary
Annually (per fiscal year)
GLOSSARY
AI-written
National Mesonet Program
A government program that collects environmental observations from various sources to improve weather and hazard forecasts, focusing on smaller-scale weather events.
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
A senior official within the U.S. Department of Commerce who leads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which focuses on the oceans, weather, and climate.
Mesonet
A network of automated weather stations that gathers detailed information about local weather conditions over a specific geographic area, often with denser coverage than larger national networks.
In situ sensor networks
Systems of sensors that measure environmental conditions directly at a specific location, such as sensors embedded in the ground to measure soil moisture or instruments in the air measuring atmospheric profiles.
Numerical Weather Prediction
The process of using complex computer models to simulate the atmosphere and predict future weather conditions based on current observations.
Subseasonal to seasonal timescales
Weather forecasts that look at longer periods beyond the typical 7-day outlook, usually weeks to months in advance, focusing on broad trends like temperature or precipitation anomalies.
ACTION TIMELINE
2 EVENTS
FEB 13, 25
Introduced in Senate
INTROREFERRAL
FEB 13, 25
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Formal agreements between two or more parties that outline their shared goals, responsibilities, and how they will cooperate on a specific project or program.
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
A federal agency under the Department of Commerce focused on the condition of the oceans, major waterways, and the atmosphere, providing weather forecasts, storm warnings, and climate monitoring.
