[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 172 (Wednesday, November 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6687-S6688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Ms. Murkowski):
  S. 5361. A bill to improve the lead time, accuracy, and dissemination 
of forecasts of atmospheric rivers throughout the United States, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Improving 
Atmospheric River Forecasts Act. This bill would require the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a new program to 
improve prediction of these important storm systems.
  This bill would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration to establish a new program within the National Weather 
Service to improve atmospheric river forecasts. This includes better 
data acquisition, like new radar systems that can track the heart of 
atmospheric rivers hours before storms hit. It also includes developing 
a quantitative scale for events on a scale of 1 to 5 to better inform 
emergency managers and the public about the severity of incoming AR 
events. The bill also directs NOAA to develop this program in 
collaboration with public and private partners across the weather 
enterprise.
  As Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Marty Ralph said, 
``Atmospheric rivers are the hurricanes of

[[Page S6688]]

the west coast.'' Why, then, are we not treating them with the same 
attention in forecasting? This bill will take a pivotal first step in 
bringing atmospheric rivers to the same forecasting sophistication as 
hurricanes by establishing a new program at NOAA to coordinate these 
efforts and create accurate, effective, and actionable predictions to 
minimize loss of life and property.
  These steps are especially necessary under a changing climate. As 
temperatures increase, water bands in atmospheric rivers widen and 
storms increase in duration. By 2090, NOAA predicts that atmospheric 
river caused flood damages may increase to between $2.3 and $3.2 
billion in annual impact.
  I want to thank my colleague Senator Murkowski for introducing this 
important legislation with me in the Senate and Representative Mike 
Garcia for leading the House companion that recently passed the House 
as part of the Weather Act. I hope all of our colleagues will join us 
in supporting this bipartisan bill to improve our Nation's resilience 
to atmospheric river events.
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