The WING Act of 2025 establishes a research program to develop and implement solutions for maintaining accurate weather radar detection despite obstructions like wind turbines and buildings.
Randy Feenstra
Representative
IA-4
The Weather Innovation for the Next Generation Act of 2025 (WING Act) establishes a new research program to ensure the accuracy of weather radar systems despite physical obstructions like wind turbines and buildings. This initiative directs the National Weather Service to develop and test new technologies and forecasting methods to mitigate issues such as beam blockage and ghost echoes. The program will prioritize proven fixes and require annual reports to Congress until its conclusion in 2030.
New WING Act Funds Research to Stop Wind Farms from Messing Up Weather Radar Through 2030
The “Weather Innovation for the Next Generation Act of 2025,” or WING Act, is setting up a new, multi-year research and development program aimed squarely at fixing a growing problem: physical obstructions messing up our weather radar. Specifically, the bill mandates the National Weather Service (NWS) Director, working with NOAA’s research arm, to launch a Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Program to keep weather detection and prediction accurate even when things like wind turbines or new buildings get in the way. This program has a hard stop date of September 30, 2030, and is focused on finding solutions that can actually be put into commercial use.
The Ghost in the Machine: Why Radar Needs a Fix
If you live in an area with a lot of new infrastructure—think massive wind farms or dense high-rise development—you might have noticed weather forecasts getting a little squirrely. That’s because these structures can cause “beam blockage” (where the signal is partially or totally blocked) or “ghost echoes” (false readings). The WING Act is a direct response to this, requiring the NWS to team up with industry, universities, and state governments to develop fixes. For example, they must look into using specialized radar techniques like dual polarization to filter out the interference caused by wind turbines, which can often look like severe weather on a radar screen.
Prioritizing Real-World Solutions
This isn't just a theoretical research project; the bill lists specific, practical fixes that the NWS must prioritize. These include looking at advanced systems like multifunction phased array radar, finding ways to swap out bad, obstructed data with information from commercial radar, and utilizing data from private weather towers. For anyone relying on accurate local forecasts—from construction crews planning a pour to farmers deciding when to harvest—this means the NWS will be actively working to use every available data source to fill in the gaps. Crucially, the bill also mandates that wind farm locations be shared so local forecasters can display them, helping to explain why a particular radar reading might look strange.
What This Means for Your Daily Life
In short, the WING Act is an investment in better public safety. When severe weather hits, the accuracy of the NWS radar is critical for issuing timely warnings. If you live near a large new development—especially wind energy projects—this bill aims to ensure that your local weather warnings aren't delayed or distorted by interference. The program’s focus on commercially ready solutions means that whatever they develop by the 2030 deadline should actually be deployable across the country. While the cost of this multi-year R&D program will be covered by taxpayers, the return is theoretically more reliable weather data, which benefits everyone from emergency responders to the commuter checking the forecast before leaving home.