§8514 Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program

Summary

The Under Secretary must run a project, working with the U.S. weather industry and academic groups the Administrator chooses, to make hurricane forecasts better. The aim is to make forecasts and warnings more accurate so fewer people are hurt or die and so there is less damage to the economy. The project focuses on predicting rapid strengthening and storm track, improving storm surge forecasts and how they are communicated, using risk-communication research to make watches and warnings clearer, and testing new kinds of observations such as acoustic or infrasonic measurements. Within 1 year after April 18, 2017, the Under Secretary, working through the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and consulting the Director of the National Weather Service, must create a plan showing the specific research, development, and technology-transfer actions plus the resources and timelines needed to meet these goals.