# 119-s-322: Improving Atmospheric River Forecasts Act

119-s-322, Improving Atmospheric River Forecasts Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-322
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-322
- Congress: 119
- Title: Improving Atmospheric River Forecasts Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-29
- Sponsor: Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**Create more accurate, actionable forecasts and warnings for atmospheric river events** to cut loss of life, property, and economic damage. The bill would make NOAA lead a research and operations program that upgrades models, observations, and communications to better predict landfalls and inland penetration of atmospheric rivers. - West Coast residents and local officials would gain improved regional coverage, including at least one atmospheric river observatory for West Coast States (including Alaska), to inform local responses and planning. - Water managers and infrastructure planners would get better precipitation and streamflow forecasts for complex terrain to support water-resource decisions and resilience to extreme water events. - Forecasters and emergency responders would benefit from required seasonal air reconnaissance. NOAA would acquire and sustain crewed and uncrewed aircraft, equipment, and personnel each November through March to collect needed observations. - Researchers and colleges would partner with NOAA to build a unified forecast system, test innovative observations like drones and buoys, and use data assimilation and AI to move research into operations.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] (R-AK), 2025-01-29T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Annual aircraft and West Coast observatories: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would require NOAA to run atmospheric river air reconnaissance each year from November 1 through March 31. NOAA would acquire and sustain crewed and uncrewed aircraft, instruments, and staff, and make collected data available for research and operations. The agency would need t…
- NOAA program to improve storm forecasts: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would create an Atmospheric River Forecast Improvement Program at NOAA led by the Under Secretary. The program would fund research, modeling, and tests to make better forecasts and warnings for atmospheric rivers. It would require new forecast skill metrics, a unified forecasti…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-1462: Fix Our Forests Act
- 119-s-306: Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025
- 119-s-579: Department of Energy Quantum Leadership Act of 2025
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act

## Sources
- [119-s-322 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/322)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-1462: Fix Our Forests Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1462)
- [119-s-306: Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-306)
- [119-s-579: Department of Energy Quantum Leadership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-579)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2838)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-322 (as of 2026-09-10).