TORNADO Act

Tornado Observations Research and Notification Assessment for Development of Operations Act or the TORNADO Act

This bill establishes programs and activities to improve the forecasting of hazardous weather and water events, including tornadoes.

The bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to maintain and improve the system by which the risks of hazardous weather and water events are communicated to the general public, with the goal of informing action and encouraging response to prevent loss of life and property.

NOAA shall also

• maintain a hazard risk communication office;
• establish or maintain a research program to modernize the creation and communication of risk-based, statistically reliable, probabilistic hazard information to inform effective responses to hazardous weather and water events;
• establish a pilot program for tornado hazard communication to test the effectiveness of the implementation of the research conducted pursuant to this bill;
• submit to Congress a strategic plan for developing and prioritizing the implementation of high-resolution probabilistic forecast guidance for hazardous weather and water events using a next-generation weather forecast and warning framework;
• perform one or more post-storm surveys and assessments following each hazardous weather or water event that is of sufficient societal importance;
• update, if necessary, the system for rating tornado severity; and
• maintain the Vortex USA tornado research program.

The Government Accountability Office shall submit a report that examines the information technology infrastructure of the National Weather Service.