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NOAA Central Library

Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017: NWS Reports

NWS Responsibilities

While the National Weather Service plays a large role in supporting the Weather Act, Section 101 is uniquely directed at their mission of ensuring public safety through the improvement of weather data, modeling, computing, forecasting and warnings for the protection of life and property, in addition to enhancing the nation's economy.  Further sections of the Act focus on additional areas of NWS research such as the creation of timely foundational forecasts of subseasonal and seasonal temperature, as well as precipitation, satellite innovation, federal weather coordination, and tsunami warning and research.

Line Office Weather Act Contact

NWS, Congressional Affairs Division
1325 East-West Highway 
Silver Spring, MD 20910

NWS Documents in the NOAA IR

NWS Produced Reports

  • Report to Congress. Subseasonal and seasonal forecasting innovation: plans for the twenty-first century. This report outlines the current use of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) S2S products and services, and how NOAA plans to improve the usability and transference of data, information, and forecasts. It will serve as a guidepost for NOAA planning and execution, as well as to inform the public and NOAA’s stakeholders on its efforts on subseasonal and seasonal forecasting. It was developed with input from Federal, regional, state, tribal, and local government agencies, research institutions, and the private sector. The report starts by identifying current S2S products and services, and then outlines innovations needed to enable and improve them. Two main goals for improving products and services are: (i) improving the skill of foundational tools in order to improve the skill of the official S2S forecasts, and (ii) enhancing the value of S2S products for stakeholders.
  • Report to Congress: Gaps in NEXRAD Radar Coverage: The study examined the impact of radar coverage on warnings for tornadoes and flash floods, although it should be noted that radar also provides necessary observations to support other weather warnings (e.g., hail/severe thunderstorms, winter weather, hurricanes, etc.,) that are not addressed by the study and this report. Tornadoes and flash floods are rare events in general, and only a small fraction of those events cause fatalities. 
  • Report to Congress: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Report on Contract Positions at the National Weather Service. 
  • Report to Congress: United States Weather Research Program Annual Project Report. USWRP began in the 1990s, with a principal motivation to accelerate the rate of forecast improvements by taking advantage of science results and technology advancements, which satisfy an increased need for improved weather information in weather sensitive economic sectors. The program has continued to emphasize the transition of research in five critical areas to produce advances in observational, computing, and modeling capabilities to support substantial improvement in weather forecasting and prediction of high-impact weather events: heavy precipitation and associated flooding; tropical storms; air quality; severe weather; and the social science necessary to improve the communication of weather information to decision-makers.
  • Report to Congress: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Department of Homeland Security’s Report on National Efforts that Support Rapid Response Following Near-Shore Tsunami Events. The Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) prepared this report in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United States Geological Survey in response to the following direction provided by the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (PL 115-25). It has been reviewed and edited by the National Guard Bureau. Certain areas of the United States, such as the Cascadia region of the Pacific Northwest (including Northern California), are particularly vulnerable to a near-shore tsunami event. Due to this concern, extensive research, assessment, and planning have been done by multiple Federal agencies and the states over the past three decades.
  • Report to Congress: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Report on Tsunami Warning & Education Act. This report responds to this Congressional direction. NOAA continues to operate a comprehensive, end-to-end tsunami forecast, warning and mitigation capability and implement the actions required by law. NOAA has been effective in obtaining the necessary supercomputing resources to run the tsunami prediction models, as directed by the Tsunami Warning and Education Act (TWEA) enacted as title VIII of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-479; 33 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.). NOAA also continues its ongoing efforts to engage federal, state, tribal, and local partners through administering the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, as directed by TWEA.
  • Report to Congress: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and National Weather Service Exchange Program. The recommended exchange program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) between the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and the National Weather Service (NWS) has developed organically through scientific collaborations driven by research projects, operational needs, and co -location of facilities. To meet the guidance of the Weather Act, OAR and NWS will promote exchanges of up to 1 year between OAR research scientists and NWS forecasters and scientists, through existing OAR programs, with additional emphasis on opportunities between Line Office staff.
  • Operations and Workforce Analysis Catalog; Assembling the data, analysis and findings from the 2015- 2016 Operations and Workforce Analysis of the National Weather Service (NWS). This catalog details the findings and ideas generated during the OWA from May 2015 to December 2016. The OWA was designed to assess NWS current operations and its workforce to generate ideas and strategies for the NWS to consider in support of the ultimate strategic outcome of building a Weather Ready Nation. It was also designed to respond to recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Public Administration3, which were supported by Congress. At the end of this document is a brief discussion of how NWS are using these OWA findings and ideas to move forward.

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