Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program Enhancement Act

Key Points

• This bill updates the national hurricane forecasting program to focus on predicting rapid intensity changes — when storms suddenly get much stronger — and improving projected storm paths using new probabilistic methods for hazard mapping.
• The bill requires better forecasting and communication of inland flooding, compound flooding, and storm surges so communities far from the coast also get clear, specific warnings about water dangers from hurricanes.
• It brings social and behavioral science into hurricane preparedness — studying how people react to warnings and why some ignore evacuation orders — to improve how danger is communicated and save more lives.
• New observation technologies like drones, novel sensors, and instruments on commercial aircraft and satellites would be evaluated and incorporated into hurricane tracking to gather better data.
• Annual reports to Congress are required through 2029 detailing any missed hurricane-tracking missions, including reasons like broken equipment, pilot shortages, or aircraft maintenance issues, plus a workforce plan to fix staffing gaps.
• The program would expand cloud computing resources to run higher-resolution hurricane models, and research would explore how hurricanes interact with tornadoes and how wind and water hazards damage buildings and the natural environment.