“To research the impact of obstructions on radar detection and prediction capabilities, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Program within the National Weather Service, in coordination with the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, to mitigate physical obstructions (i.e., wind turbines and buildings causing beam blockage or ghost echoes) affecting weather radar detection and prediction. In implementing the program, the Director of the National Weather Service must consult the Interagency Council for Advancing Meteorological Services; partner with industry, academia, governments, and other entities; test existing technologies; research solutions such as signal processing and forecasting algorithms; and develop commercially viable mitigations, prioritizing multifunction phased array radar, commercial radar data, private meteorological towers, wind farm boundary displays, rain gauges, and other technologies to address beam blockage or ghost echoes. The program terminates on September 30, 2030, or one year after a final recommendation—submitted five years after enactment—on the need for continued research; annual reports evaluating priority technologies and recommending further testing are required beginning two years after enactment.