,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bbjc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #bb1     
#bjbc,mr4 ,padilla introduced the       
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,armed   
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the   
conduct of winter season reconnaissance 
of atmospheric rivers on the ,west      
,coast of the ,united ,states1 and for  
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,atmospheric   
,rivers ,reconnaissance1 ,observation1  
and ,warning ,act or the ,,arrow ,act4  
#b4 ,conduct of winter season           
reconnaissance of atmospheric rivers on 
the ,west ,coast of the ,united ,states 
7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the       
following3 7#a7 ,every year1 storms     
threaten lives and property and cause   
significant disruptions to travel and   
commerce4  7#b7 ,during the cool season 
from ,october through ,april1 the       
western ,united ,states and other       
regions around the ,united ,states are  

significantly impacted by atmospheric   
rivers4  7#c7 ,for key regions across   
the western ,united ,states1 #gj to #ij 
percent of days on which the ,national  
,weather ,service issued either watches1
 warnings1 or advisories for any hazard 
type were associated with land-falling  
atmospheric rivers4  7#d7 ,atmospheric  
rivers are relatively long1 narrow      
regions in the atmosphere1 below #aj1jjj
 feet1 that behave like rivers of water 
vapor pushed along by strong winds4     
,outside the tropics1 atmospheric rivers
 are responsible for more than #ij      
percent of the horizontal movement of   
water vapor4 ,atmospheric rivers shift  
locations following large-scale weather 
patterns1 carrying an amount of water   
vapor on average equivalent to roughly  
#be times the average flow of water at  
the mouth of the ,mississippi ,river4   
7#e7 ,precipitation and flooding in the 
western ,united ,states from high-impact
 storms are largely controlled by       
characteristics of land-falling         

atmospheric rivers1 accounting for up to
 #ej percent of annual precipitation and
 more than #ij percent of major flood   
events4  7#f7 ,conducting atmospheric   
river reconnaissance during the winter  
season in the ,united ,states           
significantly enhances storm            
observations and improves forecasts of  
storm landfall and intensity4  7#g7 ,the
 ,national ,winter ,season ,operations  
,plan1 the goal of which is to improve  
the accuracy and timeliness of severe   
winter season storm forecasting and     
warning services provided by the        
,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric     
,administration1 the ,air ,force1 and   
the ,navy1 coordinates ,federal efforts 
to provide enhanced weather observations
 of extreme winter season storms that   
impact the ,united ,states and calls for
 atmospheric river reconnaissance to be 
conducted annually off the ,west ,coast 
of the ,united ,states4  7#h7 ,the      
,national ,winter ,season ,operations   
,plan coordinates requirements for      

winter season reconnaissance            
observations provided by the #ecrd      
,weather ,reconnaissance ,squadron of   
the ,air ,force ,reserve ,command and   
the ,aircraft ,operations ,center of the
 ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric    
,administration4  7#i7 ,the #bjba report
 of the ,science ,advisory ,board of the
 ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric    
,administration entitled1 ,priorities   
for ,weather ,research recommended that 
the ,federal ,government1 ,leverage and 
expand atmospheric river 7,,ar7         
observations to improve flood and       
drought prediction and to enable        
forecast-informed reservoir operations4 
,water and emergency managers often cope
 with too much or too little water and  
require better information on storms    
that produce extreme precipitation4     
,however1 precipitation prediction skill
 has not improved substantially in the  
last #bj years4 ,the multi-agency1      
,,ostp-led ,earth ,system ,prediction   
,roadmap 7#bjbj7 identified expanded    

research1 observations and communication
 needed to better anticipate and        
mitigate water cycle extremes and their 
cascading impacts1 including atmospheric
 river type storms44  7b7 ,conduct of   
reconnaissance  7#a7 ,in general        
,subject to the availability of         
appropriations1 the #ecrd ,weather      
,reconnaissance ,squadron of the ,air   
,force ,reserve ,command and the        
,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric     
,administration shall provide aircraft1 
personnel1 and equipment necessary to   
meet the mission requirements for winter
 season atmospheric river reconnaissance
 on the ,west ,coast of the ,united     
,states annually from ,november #a      
through ,march #ca4  7#b7 ,activities   
,in carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the    
#ecrd ,weather ,reconnaissance ,squadron
 of the ,air ,force ,reserve ,command1  
in consultation with the ,administrator 
of the ,national ,oceanic and           
,atmospheric ,administration1 shall--   
7,a7 improve the accuracy and timeliness

 of atmospheric river forecasts and     
warning services on the ,west ,coast of 
the ,united ,states2  7,b7 collect data 
in sensitive oceanic regions where      
conventional1 upper-air observations are
 lacking and satellites are unable to   
effectively resolve the position and    
vertical structure of an atmospheric    
river and of other nearby essential     
atmospheric structures offshore2  7,c7  
support water management decisions and  
flood forecasting through the execution 
of targeted airborne dropsonde and buoy 
observations over the eastern1 central1 
and western north ,pacific ,ocean to    
improve forecasts of the landfall and   
impacts of atmospheric rivers for civil 
authorities and military decision       
makers2  7,d7 participate in the        
research and operations partnership that
 guides flight planning and uses        
research methods to improve and expand  
the capabilities and effectiveness of   
atmospheric river reconnaissance over   
time2 and  7,e7 undertake such other    

additional activities as the #ecrd      
,weather ,reconnaissance ,squadron      
considers appropriate to further the    
atmospheric river reconnaissance        
mission4  7c7 ,reports  7#a7 ,air ,force
 ,not later than #ij days after the date
 of the enactment of this ,act1 the     
,secretary of the ,air ,force1 in       
consultation with the ,administrator of 
the ,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric 
,administration1 shall submit to the    
,committee on ,armed ,services of the   
,senate and the ,committee on ,armed    
,services of the ,house of              
,representatives a comprehensive report 
on the resources necessary for the #ecrd
 ,weather ,reconnaissance ,squadron of  
the ,air ,force ,reserve ,command to    
continue to support1 through ,december  
#ca1 #bjce-- 7,a7 the ,national         
,hurricane ,operations ,plan2  7,b7 the 
,national ,winter ,season ,operations   
,plan2 and  7,c7 any other operational  
requirements relating to weather        
reconnaissance1 to include annual       

support from ,november #a through ,march
 #ca for atmospheric river              
reconnaissance on the ,west ,coast of   
the ,united ,states4  7#b7 ,commerce    
,not later than #ij days after the date 
of the enactment of this ,act1 the      
,secretary of ,commerce shall submit to 
the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1  
and ,transportation of the ,senate and  
the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and 
,technology of the ,house of            
,representatives a comprehensive report 
on the resources necessary for the      
,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric     
,administration to continue to support1 
through ,december #ca1 #bjce-- 7,a7 the 
,national ,hurricane ,operations ,plan2 
7,b7 the ,national ,winter ,season      
,operations ,plan2 and  7,c7 any other  
operational requirements relating to    
weather reconnaissance1 to include      
annual support from ,november #a through
 ,march #ca for atmospheric river       
reconnaissance on the ,west ,coast of   
the ,united ,states4