The TORNADO Act is designed to help NOAA (the federal agency that handles weather forecasting) get better at warning people about dangerous weather like hurricanes, tornadoes, and winter storms. Right now, the government sends out weather warnings, but this bill says those warnings need to be clearer and easier for regular people to understand.

To make this happen, NOAA has to create a new Risk Communication Office that will study how well their current warnings work and figure out how to make them simpler. The agency will also start a research program to modernize how they send out weather information, with a special focus on tornado warnings. Additionally, NOAA needs to develop a plan for rolling out something called the Warn-on-Forecast System, which would give people more advanced notice when dangerous thunderstorms and tornadoes might happen.

The bill also supports an ongoing research project called VORTEX-USA, where meteorologists and social scientists work together to understand what causes dangerous tornadoes in the Southeast and how to communicate those risks to people most effectively. Finally, the bill requires a government watchdog agency to review whether the National Weather Service's communication technology is actually getting warnings to people quickly enough. Overall, this is about making sure that when dangerous weather is coming, people get the message in time and understand what they need to do to stay safe.

TORNADO Act

Wicker, Roger F.

Tornado Observations Research and Notification Assessment for Development of Operations Act or the TORNADO Act This bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to evaluate and improve its communications about hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, and other hazardous weather events. Specifically, NOAA must establish a Risk Communication Office to evaluate the effectiveness of NOAA's communications and to identify ways to provide simpler and clearer information to the public about hazardous weather events. NOAA must also (1) establish a research program to modernize its communication systems, and (2) establish a pilot program to implement the research with respect to communications about tornadoes. Additionally, the bill requires NOAA to develop a strategic plan for implementing the Warn-on-Forecast System, which aims to provide more advanced warnings of thunderstorm-related events (e.g., tornadoes). The bill also requires NOAA to evaluate its tornado rating system and to conduct post-storm assessments of significant events. The bill also provides statutory authority for NOAA's Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (known as VORTEX-USA), a collaborative project between meteorologists and social scientists to study the conditions that contribute to dangerous tornadoes in the Southeast and the best ways to communicate these events to the public. Finally, the Government Accountability Office must report on the National Weather Service's communication technology, particularly with respect to timely notices of hazardous weather events.