§8514 Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program

Summary

The Under Secretary must run a project, working with the U.S. weather industry and universities chosen by the Administrator, to improve hurricane forecasting. The project’s goal is to make forecasts and warnings more accurate so fewer people are killed or hurt and less money is lost. It focuses on four areas: better prediction of rapid strengthening and storm tracks, improved storm-surge forecasts and how those are communicated, using research on risk communication to make watches and warnings clearer, and testing new observation methods such as acoustic or infrasonic measurements. Within 1 year after April 18, 2017, the Under Secretary, through the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and after consulting the Director of the National Weather Service, must produce a plan that lays out the specific research, development, technology transfer activities, resources, and timelines needed to meet these goals.