S. 2058: To require the Secretary of Commerce to study the coverage gaps of the Next Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather Service and to develop a plan for improving radar coverage and hazardous weather detection and forecasting.

S. 2058: To require the Secretary of Commerce to study the coverage gaps of the Next Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather Service and to develop a plan for improving radar coverage and hazardous weather detection and forecasting.

114th Congress · introduced 2015-09-17 · Science, Technology, Communications · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-09-17 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

To require the Secretary of Commerce to study the coverage gaps of the Next Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather Service and to develop a plan for improving radar coverage and hazardous weather detection and forecasting.

Plain summary

(Sec. 1) This bill directs the Department of Commerce to complete, within 90 days after enactment of this bill, a study on gaps in the coverage of the Next Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather Service (NEXRAD). In conducting this study, Commerce shall identify areas in the United States with limited or no NEXRAD coverage below 6,000 feet above ground level of the surrounding terrain. For those areas identified, Commerce shall also: identify the key weather effects for which prediction would improve with improved radar detection; identify additional sources of observations for high impact weather available and operational for such areas, including Terminal Doppler Weather Radar, air surveillance radars of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and cooperative network observers; and assess the feasibility and advisability of efforts to integrate and upgrade federal radar capabilities in such areas that are not owned or controlled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including radar capabilities of the FAA and the Department of Defense. In addition, under such study Commerce shall: assess the feasibility and advisability of incorporating state-operated and other nonfederal radars into the operations of the National Weather Service; identify options to improve radar coverage in all of the areas identified as having limited or no NEXRAD coverage; and estimate the cost of, and develop a timeline for, carrying out each of the options identified. After completing the study, Commerce shall submit a plan for improving radar coverage in the identified areas by integrating and upgrading, where practicable, additional observation solutions to improve hazardous weather detection and forecasting. Commerce shall seek third-party reviews on scientific methodology related to, and the feasibility and advisability of, implementing the plan to improve radar coverage, including the extent to which warning and forecast services of the National Weather Service would be improved by additional NEXRAD coverage.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate amended), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

To require the Secretary of Commerce to study the coverage gaps of the Next Generation Weather Radar of the National Weather Service and to develop a plan for improving radar coverage and hazardous weather detection and forecasting.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate amended)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: S. 2058, Metropolitan Weather Hazards Protection Act of 2015 (2016-04-12)

Cosponsors on this site

Thom Tillis (R-NC)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

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Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate amended)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s2058.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s2058 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114