Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Dangerous heat wave to expand east early this week, affecting 170 million people. Details here Chevron right

Ashburn, VA

75°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Ashburn

Virginia

75°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Ashburn, VA Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars
2
Extreme Heat Warning

News / Weather News

Trump signs ‘monumental’ weather bill into law to help forecasting, researching capabilities across weather enterprise

By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather senior editor

Published Apr 22, 2017 6:54 PM EDT | Updated Jul 1, 2019 5:23 PM EDT

Copied

President Trump signed a bill into law on Tuesday, April 18, that will improve weather forecasting and researching capabilities across the American weather enterprise.

The bill, which received strong bipartisan support, is titled the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017, H.R. 353. It was passed in the House of Representatives in January and was approved by the Senate on March 29.

The legislation authorizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to prioritize research to improve weather data, modeling, computing, forecasting and warnings to better protect lives and property.

The Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act is a major step toward more accurate and timely weather predictions, said U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, a Oklahoma Republican, the bill’s sponsor.

"When a major storm or tornado is quickly approaching your community, every additional minute of preparation time counts. This legislation strengthens our country’s commitment to severe weather forecasting and ensures NOAA has access to the best weather data," Lucas said.

AccuWeather CEO Barry Lee Myers called the bill a “monumental piece of legislation.”

“It’s a significant milestone for the whole weather enterprise,” Myers said. “It’s the first time that there has ever been a piece of federal legislation in this field that works to bring NOAA, the research community and the weather industry together in various ways.”

hurricane

This image, provided by NOAA, was taken on Oct. 7, 2016. It shows Hurricane Matthew over the Southeastern part of the U.S. (NOAA via AP)

Part of the research that will be conducted by NOAA will emphasize high-impact weather events such as improved tornado warnings and hurricane forecasts to the public.

Last October, when Hurricane Matthew was barreling through the Atlantic, one of NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter planes that was scheduled to fly over the hurricane was grounded for repairs and never flew. The opportunity to gather information about the storm was lost.

“That was a concern for a number of people, and there’s provisions now in the bill to make sure that there’s sufficient backup, for example, to make sure that all the data that needs to be available is available," Myers said.

Other aspects of the legislation specify that the National Weather Service (NWS) must collect and utilize information to make reliable and timely foundational forecasts of subseasonal and seasonal temperature and precipitation.

Subseasonal forecasting is classified as forecasting weather between two weeks and three months, while seasonal forecasting is between three months and two years.

RELATED:

The difference between tornado watches and warnings
2017 Atlantic hurricane forecast: Possible El Nino to limit development of storms
Prepare now for extreme weather events with AccuWeather Ready

With the bill now signed into law, it allows for technology transfers between the National Weather Service, private weather companies and universities to improve forecasting. It will also give NOAA the capability to contract with the weather industry to obtain data for weather forecasting.

U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican and one of the bill’s cosponsors, said forecasting will be improved by looking to the weather industry for new technologies and weather solutions.

“With this bipartisan effort, we will improve forecasting by looking to the private sector for new technologies and weather solutions,” Smith said. “This bill gives NOAA a clear vision and allows them the flexibility to buy new, affordable and potentially better sources of data.”

The Weather Research and Forecasting Act is the first piece of weather legislation enacted by Congress since 1992.

Myers, who has testified numerous times in front of Congress to explain why the weather enterprise needs to work together and why the bill is so valuable, called it a "lifetime of work."

The American Meteorological Society (AMS), the American Weather and Climate Industry Association (AWCIA), the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and a number of companies emphasized the bill's vital importance to legislators.

Report a Typo

Weather News

Severe Weather

Juneau, Alaska gets rare 'tornado' and severe thunderstorm

Jun. 20, 2025
Recreation

Lightning strikes hikers, prompts record rescue on Colorado mountain

Jun. 19, 2025
Weather Forecasts

Major cooldown eyes West as fire weather increases for Great Basin

Jun. 22, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Dangerous heat wave to envelop 170 million Americans through late June

6 minutes ago

Severe Weather

Storms sweep Northeast, teen struck by lightning in Central Park

2 days ago

Severe Weather

Severe storms to continue riding edge of heat dome into new week

12 hours ago

Astronomy

Meteorological summer vs. astronomical summer explained

6 days ago

Astronomy

NASA raises chance for asteroid to hit moon

2 days ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Astronomy

Summer solstice: Everything to know about the year's longest day

2 days ago

Health

‘Nimbus’ COVID-19 variant arrives in U.S. after China surge

2 days ago

Severe Weather

Rare high-elevation tornado confirmed at Pikes Peak

4 days ago

Weather News

First methane-powered sea spiders found crawling on the ocean floor

4 days ago

Weather News

‘Dragon Man’ DNA revelation puts a face to group of ancient humans

2 days ago

AccuWeather Weather News Trump signs ‘monumental’ weather bill into law to help forecasting, researching capabilities across weather enterprise
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...