§10371 Water Prediction and Forecasting

Summary

The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere must set up a National Water Center. Called the National Water Center, it will be the research and operations hub for water forecasting and support inside NOAA and the National Weather Service. The center must work with federal and state agencies, universities, and private companies. Its jobs include improving knowledge about water needs, building advanced water models, turning research into day-to-day operations, providing forecasts and flood/inundation guidance (including flash and river flooding), and giving decision support to emergency managers with help from warning coordination meteorologists. No later than one year after December 31, 2020, the Under Secretary, through the NWS Director, must publish an operations policy for the center that covers staff duties, product content and format, and coordination with NWS centers (National Centers for Environmental Prediction, River Forecast Centers, and Weather Forecast Offices). The Office of Water Prediction must lead research on operational water prediction, share decision support with federal NSTC groups, state water agencies, and state/local emergency managers, and build needed capabilities (observations, modeling, data management, supercomputing, social science, and communications). Authorized funding: $44,500,000 for fiscal year 2021; $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; $45,500,000 for fiscal year 2023; and $46,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. Funds must come from amounts authorized for the National Weather Service and the National Ocean Service enacted after December 31, 2020.