S 258
· 119th Congress
· Science, Technology, Communications
TORNADO Act
Sponsor
Latest action
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 88.
Action timeline
Every recorded action on this bill, newest first. Stage badges color-code the legislative path.
Jun 02, 2025
committee
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with amendments. With written report No. 119-26.
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Jun 02, 2025
other
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 88.
Feb 05, 2025
committee
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Jan 27, 2025
introduced
Introduced in Senate
Jan 27, 2025
introduced
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Text versions
Each stage of the bill — official text published by GPO. Click any format to read on congress.gov / govinfo.
CRS summaries
Plain-English summaries written by the Congressional Research Service — neutral, nonpartisan staff who summarize bills as they advance through stages. The authoritative description of what each version of the bill does.
00
Introduced in Senate
Jan 27, 2025
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.
via Congressional Research Service · published through congress.gov
Changelog
ⓘ
How a bill moves through Congress. Each stage produces a new official text. The diff between them shows what changed at that step.
ih / is — Introduced in House / Senate. First filed version.rfh / rfs — Referred to a committee for review.rh / rs — Reported back by the committee to the floor (often with amendments — this is where most language changes happen).pcs / pch — Placed on Calendar for floor consideration.eh / es — Engrossed. Passed by the originating chamber. Text is now what was actually voted on.rdh / rds — Received by the other chamber.eah / eas — Engrossed Amendment. The other chamber passed an amended version.ath / ats — Agreed to. Both chambers settled on the same text.enr — Enrolled. Final reconciled text, sent to the President.pl — Public Law. Signed by the President. It's now law.pp — Public Print. Official printing post-enactment.
Most bills die before eh/es. Going from pcs → enr is the full path through both chambers.
ⓘ
How a bill moves through Congress. Each stage produces a new official text. The diff between them shows what changed at that step.
ih/is— Introduced in House / Senate. First filed version.rfh/rfs— Referred to a committee for review.rh/rs— Reported back by the committee to the floor (often with amendments — this is where most language changes happen).pcs/pch— Placed on Calendar for floor consideration.eh/es— Engrossed. Passed by the originating chamber. Text is now what was actually voted on.rdh/rds— Received by the other chamber.eah/eas— Engrossed Amendment. The other chamber passed an amended version.ath/ats— Agreed to. Both chambers settled on the same text.enr— Enrolled. Final reconciled text, sent to the President.pl— Public Law. Signed by the President. It's now law.pp— Public Print. Official printing post-enactment.
Most bills die before eh/es. Going from pcs → enr is the full path through both chambers.
Line-level diff between text versions of this bill — what actually changed at each legislative stage.
+49
−7
32 unchanged
--- Introduced (Senate)
+++ Reported (Senate)
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
-[S. 258 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
+[S. 258 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
+Calendar No. 88
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 258
+[Report No. 119-26]
+
To improve forecasting and understanding of tornadoes and other
hazardous weather, and for other purposes.
@@ -17,9 +20,14 @@
January 27, 2025
Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Moran, Mr.
-Sheehy, Mr. Young, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Warnock) introduced
-the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
-on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
+Sheehy, Mr. Young, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Peters, Mr. Warnock, and Mrs.
+Blackburn) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
+referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
+
+June 2, 2025
+
+Reported by Mr. Cruz, with amendments
+[Omit the parts struck through and insert the parts printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
@@ -127,7 +135,12 @@
types of weather and water hazards;
(E) respond to the needs of Federal, State, and
local government partners and media partners; and
-(F) account for necessary changes in the
+(F) account for the need for enhanced or earlier
+communication of a hazardous weather event to inform
+action and encourage response when the event occurs in
+a geographic area where the event is historically
+abnormal; and
+(F)(G) account for necessary changes in the
infrastructure, technology, and protocols for creating
and disseminating federally operated watches and
warnings.
@@ -218,7 +231,15 @@
(E) a flexible framework to communicate clear and
simple hazardous weather and water event information to
the public; and
-(F) social, behavioral, risk, and communication
+(F) improved coordination among offices of the
+National Weather Service, such as the National
+Hurricane Center, the River Forecast Centers, and
+forecast offices of the National Weather Service, to
+reduce the occurrence of disparate weather predictions
+and to better communicate the relationship between
+overlapping weather forecasts for different periods of
+time; and
+(F)(G) social, behavioral, risk, and communication
research to improve the forecaster operational
environment and societal information reception and
response.
@@ -395,4 +416,25 @@
Act of 1992.--Section 106 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-567; 106 Stat.
4274) is amended by striking subsection (c) (15 U.S.C. 1537).
-<all>
+Calendar No. 88
+
+119th CONGRESS
+
+1st Session
+
+S. 258
+
+[Report No. 119-26]
+
+_______________________________________________________________________
+
+A BILL
+
+To improve forecasting and understanding of tornadoes and other
+hazardous weather, and for other purposes.
+
+_______________________________________________________________________
+
+June 2, 2025
+
+Reported with amendments
Lobbying activity
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6
filings · 2026 Q3
2
filings · 2025 Q2
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Cosponsors (9)
Members who signed on to support this bill.