The Weather Innovation for the Next Generation Act of 2025 (WING Act) would create a formal Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Program within the National Weather Service (NWS), in coordination with NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research office, to protect and improve weather radar performance when physical obstructions (notably wind turbines or buildings) block the radar beam. The program would partner with industry, academia, and government to identify, test, and develop mitigation technologies and practices, including signal-processing methods, short-term forecasting to replace contaminated data, and use of dual-polarization radar techniques. A set of prioritized technology-based solutions would guide efforts, with the aim of delivering commercially workable mitigations. The act sets a termination date (no later than September 30, 2030, or earlier if certain milestones are met) and requires ongoing reporting to Congress on progress, evaluations of technologies, and a final recommendation on whether further R&D is needed. Definitions clarify terms like beam blockage, ghost echoes, and what counts as an obstruction.
Key Points
- 1Establishes a government-led radar obstruction R&D program within the National Weather Service, coordinated with NOAA's research office and supported by the Interagency Council for Advancing Meteorological Services.
- 2Requires broad collaboration with industry, academia, and government entities to identify, test, and develop mitigations for obstructions that affect weather radar performance.
- 3Calls for research into multiple mitigation approaches, including signal-processing algorithms, short-term forecast substitution for contaminated data, and the use of dual-polarization techniques to reduce wind-turbine–induced radar issues.
- 4Sets explicit priority technology options for mitigation (e.g., multifunction phased array radar; replacing contaminated data with private-sector radar data; leveraging wind-farm boundary information; incorporating rain gauges) and allows consideration of additional technologies to overcome beam blockage or ghost echoes.
- 5Provides a defined sunset/termination framework (no later than Sept. 30, 2030), with annual and final reporting to Congress on progress, technology evaluations, and a determination about continuing or ceasing field work and related activities.