[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2203 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2203

 To require the conduct of winter season reconnaissance of atmospheric 
 rivers on the West Coast of the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 2023

  Mr. Padilla introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the conduct of winter season reconnaissance of atmospheric 
 rivers on the West Coast of the United States, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Atmospheric Rivers Reconnaissance, 
Observation, and Warning Act'' or the ``ARROW Act''.

SEC. 2. CONDUCT OF WINTER SEASON RECONNAISSANCE OF ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS 
              ON THE WEST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Every year, storms threaten lives and property and 
        cause significant disruptions to travel and commerce.
            (2) During the cool season from October through April, the 
        western United States and other regions around the United 
        States are significantly impacted by atmospheric rivers.
            (3) For key regions across the western United States, 70 to 
        90 percent of days on which the National Weather Service issued 
        either watches, warnings, or advisories for any hazard type 
        were associated with land-falling atmospheric rivers.
            (4) Atmospheric rivers are relatively long, narrow regions 
        in the atmosphere, below 10,000 feet, that behave like rivers 
        of water vapor pushed along by strong winds. Outside the 
        tropics, atmospheric rivers are responsible for more than 90 
        percent of the horizontal movement of water vapor. Atmospheric 
        rivers shift locations following large-scale weather patterns, 
        carrying an amount of water vapor on average equivalent to 
        roughly 25 times the average flow of water at the mouth of the 
        Mississippi River.
            (5) Precipitation and flooding in the western United States 
        from high-impact storms are largely controlled by 
        characteristics of land-falling atmospheric rivers, accounting 
        for up to 50 percent of annual precipitation and more than 90 
        percent of major flood events.
            (6) Conducting atmospheric river reconnaissance during the 
        winter season in the United States significantly enhances storm 
        observations and improves forecasts of storm landfall and 
        intensity.
            (7) The National Winter Season Operations Plan, the goal of 
        which is to improve the accuracy and timeliness of severe 
        winter season storm forecasting and warning services provided 
        by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Air 
        Force, and the Navy, coordinates Federal efforts to provide 
        enhanced weather observations of extreme winter season storms 
        that impact the United States and calls for atmospheric river 
        reconnaissance to be conducted annually off the West Coast of 
        the United States.
            (8) The National Winter Season Operations Plan coordinates 
        requirements for winter season reconnaissance observations 
        provided by the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron of the Air 
        Force Reserve Command and the Aircraft Operations Center of the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
            (9) The 2021 report of the Science Advisory Board of the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration entitled, 
        ``Priorities for Weather Research'' recommended that the 
        Federal Government, ``Leverage and expand atmospheric river 
        (AR) observations to improve flood and drought prediction and 
        to enable forecast-informed reservoir operations. Water and 
        emergency managers often cope with too much or too little water 
        and require better information on storms that produce extreme 
        precipitation. However, precipitation prediction skill has not 
        improved substantially in the last 20 years. The multi-agency, 
        OSTP-led Earth System Prediction Roadmap (2020) identified 
        expanded research, observations and communication needed to 
        better anticipate and mitigate water cycle extremes and their 
        cascading impacts, including atmospheric river type storms.''.
    (b) Conduct of Reconnaissance.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to the availability of 
        appropriations, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron of the 
        Air Force Reserve Command and the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration shall provide aircraft, personnel, 
        and equipment necessary to meet the mission requirements for 
        winter season atmospheric river reconnaissance on the West 
        Coast of the United States annually from November 1 through 
        March 31.
            (2) Activities.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 53rd 
        Weather Reconnaissance Squadron of the Air Force Reserve 
        Command, in consultation with the Administrator of the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall--
                    (A) improve the accuracy and timeliness of 
                atmospheric river forecasts and warning services on the 
                West Coast of the United States;
                    (B) collect data in sensitive oceanic regions where 
                conventional, upper-air observations are lacking and 
                satellites are unable to effectively resolve the 
                position and vertical structure of an atmospheric river 
                and of other nearby essential atmospheric structures 
                offshore;
                    (C) support water management decisions and flood 
                forecasting through the execution of targeted airborne 
                dropsonde and buoy observations over the eastern, 
                central, and western north Pacific Ocean to improve 
                forecasts of the landfall and impacts of atmospheric 
                rivers for civil authorities and military decision 
                makers;
                    (D) participate in the research and operations 
                partnership that guides flight planning and uses 
                research methods to improve and expand the capabilities 
                and effectiveness of atmospheric river reconnaissance 
                over time; and
                    (E) undertake such other additional activities as 
                the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron considers 
                appropriate to further the atmospheric river 
                reconnaissance mission.
    (c) Reports.--
            (1) Air force.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Air Force, in 
        consultation with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration, shall submit to the Committee on 
        Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed 
        Services of the House of Representatives a comprehensive report 
        on the resources necessary for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance 
        Squadron of the Air Force Reserve Command to continue to 
        support, through December 31, 2035--
                    (A) the National Hurricane Operations Plan;
                    (B) the National Winter Season Operations Plan; and
                    (C) any other operational requirements relating to 
                weather reconnaissance, to include annual support from 
                November 1 through March 31 for atmospheric river 
                reconnaissance on the West Coast of the United States.
            (2) Commerce.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit 
        to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
        the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
        of the House of Representatives a comprehensive report on the 
        resources necessary for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration to continue to support, through December 31, 
        2035--
                    (A) the National Hurricane Operations Plan;
                    (B) the National Winter Season Operations Plan; and
                    (C) any other operational requirements relating to 
                weather reconnaissance, to include annual support from 
                November 1 through March 31 for atmospheric river 
                reconnaissance on the West Coast of the United States.
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