Padilla, Murkowski Introduce Bill for Atmospheric River Forecasting

U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced bipartisan legislation that will reduce flood risks and bolster emergency preparedness by improving atmospheric river forecasting to predict the timing and location of these storms more precisely. The Improving Atmospheric River Forecasts Act would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a forecast improvement program within the National Weather Service. The legislation was announced as major atmospheric river storms bring high winds, heavy rain, and snowfall to California.

Atmospheric rivers — often described as “rivers in the sky” that are hundreds of miles wide and can carry water vapor equivalent to multiple Mississippi Rivers — cause more than 80 percent of flood damage across the West. Climate change will only make these storms increasingly catastrophic: by 2090, atmospheric rivers are expected to cost $2.3 to $3.2 billion in annual damages and increase width by nearly 25 percent. Over 50 atmospheric rivers landed across the West Coast from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.

For the past several years, California communities have witnessed firsthand the ongoing threat of destructive flooding caused by increasingly intense and frequent atmospheric river storms." said Senator Padilla. “California has led the way