Bill brief/S613/119th Congress
Bill would improve local weather data for floods, farms, roads, and storms
Official title
Improving Flood and Agricultural Forecasts Act of 2025
This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to keep and grow the National Mesonet Program, a nationwide network that collects detailed weather and environmental data. It sets rules for how the program gathers data, helps states, tribes, private groups, and schools improve their monitoring systems, and authorizes funding through 2029. The Senate Commerce Committee has reported the bill without amendment.
Bill
S613
Introduced
Feb 18, 2025
Sponsor
Sponsor not listed
Chamber
Senate
What the bill does
What this bill does
The bill requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to maintain and run the National Mesonet Program. This program collects many kinds of environmental data to improve forecasts for weather, drought, fire, and water events, including floods. It is meant to use and connect data from commercial, academic, tribal, state, and other non‑federal sources with federal systems. The bill tells NOAA to increase the amount and detail of environmental observations it uses.
This includes more ground‑level data to improve short‑term warnings and highly local forecasts that affect people, farms, transportation, businesses, the military, and governments. It also focuses on getting more boundary‑layer and air‑sea interaction data and supporting better models to help reach a goal of 30‑minute warning times for severe weather. The bill requires NOAA to gather soil moisture and related data to support drought tracking, farm decisions, and emergency management.
It supports the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network and asks NOAA to expand road‑weather observation networks to show real‑time road and surface conditions. NOAA must also coordinate mesonet data with its other major data systems, including satellites, buoys, and ocean observing programs. The bill allows the Under Secretary to use at least 15 percent of the mesonet funding each year to give financial assistance to state, tribal, private, and academic entities to build, expand, or upgrade mesonet systems.
To receive funds, these entities must agree to provide data back to the program, meet NOAA quality standards, and show they can help support and maintain the systems for at least five years. The bill also allows NOAA to offer technical help and extra support, especially for remote or under‑monitored areas, and directs NOAA to prioritize at least one such area each year. The bill requires the program to have an advisory committee of experts. This group will recommend what data to add, how to improve and expand the program, and how to form partnerships and consortia, including with colleges and universities.
The Under Secretary must brief key congressional committees at least once a year through 2035 on program activities, assistance given, progress on committee recommendations, gaps in weather observations, and possible new areas of need such as coastal and ocean mesonet systems. Finally, the bill authorizes specific funding levels for the program from 2025 through 2029 from amounts already authorized for the National Weather Service. The authorized amounts rise from $50 million in 2025 to $70 million in 2029.
Key provisions
- NOAA’s top ocean and atmosphere official must keep the National Mesonet Program running. It would become a standing program, not a one-time project.
- The program must focus on useful data from commercial groups, universities, and other non-federal networks. It must also work with existing satellite and ocean observing systems.
- NOAA must add more kinds of environmental data and collect it from more places. This includes data near the ground and data where air and ocean conditions affect each other.
- The bill supports the National Weather Service goal of giving 30 minutes of warning before severe weather when possible. Better observations and weather model formulas would help with that goal.
- NOAA must collect and use soil moisture and vegetation water data. That data would support drought tracking, farm decisions, and emergency planning.
- NOAA must improve weather monitoring near roads. The goal is real-time information about road weather and surface conditions.
- NOAA may give at least 15% of the program’s yearly money to outside groups. States, tribes, private groups, and schools could use it to build or upgrade mesonet systems.
- Groups that get money must share data with the program. NOAA must check that the data is useful, worth the cost, and high quality. The group must also help maintain the system for at least five years with non-federal support.
- NOAA must fund at least one remote or under-monitored area each year. This gives priority to places with too few weather stations.
- NOAA must create or name an expert advisory committee. The group must include higher-education representatives and recommend data needs, program fixes, and partnership options.
Impact
Why it matters—and who it affects
Why it matters
More detailed and timely weather and environmental observations can make flood, drought, and severe weather forecasts more accurate and more local. This can help farmers plan planting, irrigation, and harvesting, and can support decisions about water use and drought response. It can also aid emergency managers and local officials in preparing for storms, fires, and other hazards. Better road‑weather and soil‑moisture data can help improve safety for drivers and truckers and support food production and food security. By linking many non‑federal monitoring networks into a common program, the bill aims to reduce data gaps, especially in remote or under‑served regions, though the exact size of forecast improvements and economic effects is not specified in the bill. The authorized funding and reporting requirements would shape how NOAA invests in weather observation systems over several years. The advisory committee and annual briefings are meant to give experts and Congress ongoing input into how the program grows and where remaining data gaps exist.
Who it affects
This bill mainly affects farmers, rural communities, emergency managers, transportation officials, weather data networks, states, tribes, colleges, universities, and private weather companies. Farmers and water managers could get better soil and drought data. Emergency and transportation officials could get better storm, flood, fire, and road-weather information. Non-federal monitoring groups could receive funding, but only if they share data and help maintain their systems.
The debate
The case for it—and the concerns
These are the main arguments surrounding the bill, not Modern Action’s position.
Arguments in support
- Could improve the accuracy and lead time of forecasts for floods, droughts, fires, and severe storms by adding more and better observations.
- Helps farmers and rural communities by strengthening soil‑moisture and drought data that support crop planning and water management.
- May enhance public safety by supporting longer warning times and more precise local alerts for dangerous weather and road conditions.
- Encourages collaboration among federal agencies, states, tribes, universities, and private companies, potentially lowering costs through data‑sharing and use of existing networks.
- Targets funding and technical help to remote and under‑served areas, which may currently lack enough monitoring stations.
- Uses advisory experts and regular reporting to keep the program accountable and responsive to changing data needs.
- Leverages non‑federal financial support and requires multi‑year maintenance commitments, which may help sustain systems beyond the federal funding window.
Concerns and tradeoffs
- The authorized funding levels may be viewed as too high by those concerned about federal spending and long‑term budget impacts.
- Some may question whether the required 15% set‑aside for financial assistance is the best or most flexible use of program funds.
- Small or under‑resourced entities might find the requirement to provide multi‑year non‑federal support difficult to meet, possibly limiting who can benefit.
- Relying heavily on non‑federal data sources could raise concerns about data ownership, long‑term access, or dependence on private vendors.
- The bill adds advisory and reporting requirements, which some may see as creating extra administrative work for NOAA without clearly defined performance benchmarks.
- The exact improvements in forecast skill and reduction in losses from disasters are not specified, making it hard to measure cost‑effectiveness in advance.
- The bill repeatedly emphasizes air‑sea interaction and hints at a possible future “coastal and ocean mesonet,” suggesting an expansion of focus beyond land‑based agriculture and flooding even though this is not directly created by the bill.
- Financial assistance can be layered on top of other federal awards, which could concentrate support in entities already skilled at securing grants.
Check the details
Key facts
- Requires NOAA’s Under Secretary to maintain the National Mesonet Program as a standing activity.
- Directs the program to prioritize use of commercial, academic, and other non‑federal environmental data and to coordinate with existing satellite and ocean observing systems.
- Calls for increasing the density and variety of environmental observations, including boundary‑layer and air‑sea interaction data, to improve numerical weather prediction from short‑term through seasonal time frames.
- Supports National Weather Service goals such as achieving 30‑minute warning times for severe weather through improved model algorithms and observations.
- Requires collection and use of soil moisture and vegetation water data to support drought information systems, agricultural decisions, and emergency management.
- Expands and enhances environmental observation networks in roadway environments to provide real‑time road‑weather and surface condition information.
- Authorizes the Under Secretary to award at least 15% of annual mesonet funding as financial assistance to state, tribal, private, and academic entities for building or upgrading mesonet systems.
- Conditions financial assistance on agreements to provide data to the program, verification of data value and cost, and a commitment to maintain systems and data quality for at least 5 years with non‑federal support.
Legislative record
How far the bill has moved
Awaiting Senate floor consideration
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 194. · Oct 21, 2025
- Introduced
- Senate Committee
- 3Senate Floor Vote
- 4Passed Senate
- 5House Review
- 6Passed Both Chambers
- 7Signed into Law
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