“A bill to establish the Radar Next Program, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes the Radar Next Program, to be administered by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere in consultation with the Director of the National Weather Service. The program requires the Under Secretary to (1) develop performance and coverage requirements for the U.S. weather radar network, including territories; (2) collaborate with the weather enterprise (i.e., public, private, and academic contributors to weather forecasts) on potential network updates; and (3) develop a plan to replace the existing Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) system that includes estimates of performance improvements, phased array radar development, implementation of a November 15, 2023, NOAA Science Advisory Board report on observing systems, a weather surveillance radar testbed for commercial and gap-filling radars, consultations with stakeholders, prioritized and expected deployment locations (including sites more than 75 miles from existing NEXRAD stations), and data improvements for forecasts and warnings—with full implementation required by September 30, 2040. The section further authorizes the Under Secretary to partner or contract with external entities (Radar-As-A-Service) to fill radar data gaps using radars, data assimilation, weather cameras, or participants from the testbed, National Mesonet Program, or cooperative agreements and requires periodic updates to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.