To establish in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a program to improve precipitation forecasts, and for other purposes.

This bill would create a dedicated program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to improve precipitation forecasts. The program aims to advance fully coupled Earth System Models that integrate atmosphere, oceans, land, and other components to forecast precipitation across all timescales—from weather to subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) to seasonal-to-decadal (S2D). It emphasizes expanding data collection and management for precipitation prediction, identifying observational gaps, expanding high-performance computing, and leveraging emerging technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. The bill also highlights improving forecast communication, incorporating social and behavioral sciences, and coordinating with federal, state, local, tribal, and academic partners to ensure practical decision support and robust data access. Funding is authorized for NOAA to carry out this program through FY2030 with specific annual appropriations starting at $15 million in FY2026 and modest annual increases thereafter. The Administrator must update the program’s goals at least every two years and ensure data are findable, accessible, interoperable, and usable. The program is designed to be carried out in collaboration with academic and private sector partners and to improve existing and future precipitation forecasting models and products.