S. 2583 — NOAA Weather Radio Modernization Act

This section amends the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.) by adding at the end a new title VII, including (1) Sec. 701 establishing NOAA Weather Radio as a nationwide network broadcasting weather, watches, warnings, and hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, resilient to emergency hazards such as power or cellular outages; (2) directing the NOAA Under Secretary to maintain coverage and reliability, prioritizing areas without or with poor cellular service; (3) requiring modernization to expand coverage—including acquiring transmitters for high-risk rapid-onset disaster areas, communities lacking mobile broadband or local warning systems, and federal lands—and to enable satellite dissemination, cloud alerts, geographically specific warnings, infrastructure upgrades, software for partial-county notifications, accessibility improvements, outage continuity options, and expedited site acquisition; (4) mandating completion of an assessment of NOAA Weather Radio access within one year of enactment, addressing broadcast needs, stakeholder input, management systems, redundancy, interagency coordination, and electromagnetic/geomagnetic disturbance effects, with modernization priorities informed by the assessment; and (5) authorizing $25 million annually for FY2026 through FY2031 to operate the network under these provisions and $100 million for FY2026, available until expended, for modernization and the assessment. This section also amends Sec. 407 (15 U.S.C. 8546), the existing Weather Ready All Hazards Award Program honoring use of NOAA Weather Radio or other early warning tools to save lives and property.

This section directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, in consultation with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, to develop standards for flash flood emergency alert systems within the 100-year floodplain (i.e., area subject to inundation from a flood having a 1-percent annual chance of being equaled or exceeded). The standards must (1) meet the needs of communities lacking mobile broadband internet access service, state or local emergency warning systems, or satellite coverage; and (2) ensure reliable operation, especially during hazardous events. Not later than two years after enactment, the Under Secretary must submit a report summarizing the standards to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

This section adds a new section 415 to the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 directing (1) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, not later than 30 days after enactment, to classify specified National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) positions—including Meteorology Series (1340), Hydrology Series (1315), General Physical Science Series (1301), Oceanographer Series (1360), Electronics Technical Series (0856), Information Technology Management Series (GS-2210), and Professional Mariners (as defined in 33 U.S.C. 3079b) involved in data collection for forecasts and warnings (including Series 0865, 9901, 9916, 9920, 9923-24, 9927-28, 9931-34, 9944, 9954, 9960, 9965, 9968, 9971, 9973, and 9984)—as protective service occupations under the Standard Occupational Classification System; and (2) the NOAA Under Secretary, not later than 180 days after enactment, to submit to Congress a 10-year staffing plan for the National Weather Service and NOAA positions supporting forecasts and warnings to protect human life and property, including data collection for watches and warnings, operation and maintenance of related equipment, information technology systems maintenance, modeling, and research to improve forecasts, warnings, and their communication. (Thus, these measures provide staffing protections, including from hiring freezes, for personnel essential to weather forecasting and warnings.)