National Weather Service Halts AI-Powered Language Translations, Raising Safety Concerns

National Weather Service no longer translating products for non-English speakers

The National Weather Service is no longer providing language translations of its products, a change that experts say could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather. The weather service has "paused" the translations because its contract with Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, has lapsed, NWS spokesman Michael Musher said. He declined further comment. Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, began providing translations in late 2023, replacing manual translations that the weather service had said were labor-intensive and not sustainable and eventually. It eventually provided them in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan. The contract lapse comes as President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to slash spending in federal agencies, including cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that have led to high employee vacancy rates at NWS offices. NOAA referred questions about the contract to a message on its website announcing the contract had lapsed. Lilt did not respond to requests for comment. Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home, including 42 million Spanish speakers, according to 2019 Census data. Not being able to read urgent weather alerts could be a matter of life or death, said Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has worked with NOAA researching how to translate weather and climate information to the public, including the use of artificial intelligence. He said translated weather alerts saved lives during a deadly tornado outbreak in Kentucky in 2021. A Spanish-speaking family interviewed afterward said they got a tornado alert on their cellphone in English but ignored it because they didn't understand it, he said. When the same alert came in Spanish, they quickly sought shelter, he said. "It saved their life," said Trujillo-Falcón. Trujillo-Falcón said weather alerts used to be translated by forecasters that spoke more than one language, a task that could be "completely overwhelming" on top of their forecasting duties. The translations are important for more than extreme weather events, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. General weather forecasts are essential for a number of sectors including tourism, transportation and energy. Families and businesses can make more informed decisions when they can get weather information that often includes actions that should be taken based on the forecast. Norma Mendoza-Denton, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said there are many people in the U.S. that function with limited English relevant to their daily routines. For example, a shopkeeper might be able to have short conversations with customers, but might not have the same understanding when it comes to reading weather or climate terminologies. "If they don't have access to that National Weather Service information in the different languages, that could be the difference between life and death for somebody," said Mendoza-Denton. The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

National Weather Service halts automated translation for alerts

The pause could affect the millions of Americans who speak a language other than English at home, at a time when climate change is exacerbating extreme weather. The National Weather Service has halted its automated language translation services until further notice, potentially hindering the millions of U.S. residents who speak a language other than English from accessing life-saving information at a time when climate change is exacerbating extreme weather events, experts say. The pause was "due to a contract lapse" with an artificial intelligence firm providing the translation services, according to a message from the agency this month. In October 2023, the NWS announced that its forecasters had been working with the machine learning company Lilt to train AI software on weather-related terminology in Spanish and simplified Chinese. It also went on to offer translations in Vietnamese, French and Samoan. According to a U.S. Census report, 67.8 million people in the United States spoke a language other than English at home in 2019. At the time of the announcement, NWS Director Ken Graham said the tool would improve "service equity to traditionally underserved and vulnerable populations that have limited English proficiency" and boost "readiness and resilience as climate change drives more extreme weather events." But such ambitions may be at odds with the Trump administration's policy approach. It has declared English the official language of the United States -- revoking a Clinton-era order that required federal agencies to provide assistance for those with limited English ability. And President Donald Trump's flurry of executive orders have led National Science Foundation employees to flag research that includes words Trump may disapprove of, such as "equity" and "diversity." Mass terminations and sweeping cuts by the Trump administration have dramatically reshaped the federal government in recent weeks, including at the NWS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Staffers at the agencies told The Washington Post that Trump's overhaul would impede their ability to monitor and predict weather hazards. The NWS and Lilt did not immediately respond to a request for comment and clarification about how long the translation pause is expected to last. "Climate-induced disasters such as extreme storms and hurricanes disproportionately impact vulnerable people -- including those who do not speak English as a first language," Michael Méndez, an assistant professor who studies climate change policy at the University of California at Irvine, said in an email. Those groups, he added, "are more likely to be negatively impacted by a disaster -- due to language barriers and not receiving access to vital information" such as weather alerts and evacuation orders. While the NWS had been manually translating forecasts and warnings into Spanish for decades, the AI tool allowed for more efficient, standardized translations, said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researcher Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, who supported the NWS's AI translation program through social science research. It's not as simple as tossing an alert into Google Translate, he explained -- his team and NOAA spent years training the AI to be contextually intelligent and to avoid mistakes such as translating "tornado watch" as "tornado clock." Mistranslations "can actually cause very consequential outcomes," Trujillo-Falcón said. As an example, he pointed to a tornado outbreak in 2021 that hit Mayfield, Kentucky, which has a large Spanish-speaking population. He interviewed a survivor who said they had ignored alerts in English because they could not read them, but when they received an alert in Spanish, they quickly took refuge on the first floor of their home -- shortly before the second floor was wiped out. "If they had not received that alert in Spanish, that would have most likely been a fatal outcome," Trujillo-Falcón said. He said his team and NOAA have reduced translation times on some products from an hour to two or three minutes -- time that can be crucial in a disaster. "What truly worries me is that these events are only becoming more intense and a lot more uncertain, too, and we have to be ahead of the game in our communication efforts," Trujillo-Falcón said. "We can come from all walks of life, but I think we can all agree at least that everyone deserves to have a chance to stay safe during a big disaster."

National Weather Service no longer translating products for non-English speakers

A partially submerged car outside of Bowling Green, Ky., on Feb. 15.Warren County Sheriff's Office via AP file The National Weather Service is no longer providing language translations of its products, a change that experts say could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather. The weather service has "paused" the translations because its contract with Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, has lapsed, NWS spokesman Michael Musher said. He declined further comment. Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, began providing translations in late 2023, replacing manual translations that the weather service had said were labor-intensive and not sustainable and eventually. It eventually provided them in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan. The contract lapse comes as President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to slash spending in federal agencies, including cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that have led to high employee vacancy rates at NWS offices. NOAA referred questions about the contract to a message on its website announcing the contract had lapsed. Lilt did not respond to requests for comment. Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home, including 42 million Spanish speakers, according to 2019 Census data. Not being able to read urgent weather alerts could be a matter of life or death, said Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has worked with NOAA researching how to translate weather and climate information to the public, including the use of artificial intelligence. He said translated weather alerts saved lives during a deadly tornado outbreak in Kentucky in 2021. A Spanish-speaking family interviewed afterward said they got a tornado alert on their cellphone in English but ignored it because they didn't understand it, he said. When the same alert came in Spanish, they quickly sought shelter, he said. "It saved their life," said Trujillo-Falcón. Trujillo-Falcón said weather alerts used to be translated by forecasters that spoke more than one language, a task that could be "completely overwhelming" on top of their forecasting duties. The translations are important for more than extreme weather events, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. General weather forecasts are essential for a number of sectors including tourism, transportation and energy. Families and businesses can make more informed decisions when they can get weather information that often includes actions that should be taken based on the forecast. Norma Mendoza-Denton, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said there are many people in the U.S. that function with limited English relevant to their daily routines. For example, a shopkeeper might be able to have short conversations with customers, but might not have the same understanding when it comes to reading weather or climate terminologies. "If they don't have access to that National Weather Service information in the different languages, that could be the difference between life and death for somebody," Mendoza-Denton said.

National Weather Service no longer translating products for non-English speakers

The National Weather Service is no longer providing language translations of its products, a change that experts say could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather. The weather service has "paused" the translations because its contract with Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, has lapsed, NWS spokesman Michael Musher said. He declined further comment. Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, began providing translations in late 2023, replacing manual translations that the weather service had said were labor-intensive and not sustainable and eventually. It eventually provided them in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan. The contract lapse comes as President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to slash spending in federal agencies, including cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that have led to high employee vacancy rates at NWS offices. NOAA referred questions about the contract to a message on its website announcing the contract had lapsed. Lilt did not respond to requests for comment. Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home, including 42 million Spanish speakers, according to 2019 Census data. Not being able to read urgent weather alerts could be a matter of life or death, said Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has worked with NOAA researching how to translate weather and climate information to the public, including the use of artificial intelligence. He said translated weather alerts saved lives during a deadly tornado outbreak in Kentucky in 2021. A Spanish-speaking family interviewed afterward said they got a tornado alert on their cellphone in English but ignored it because they didn't understand it, he said. When the same alert came in Spanish, they quickly sought shelter, he said. "It saved their life," said Trujillo-Falcón. Trujillo-Falcón said weather alerts used to be translated by forecasters that spoke more than one language, a task that could be "completely overwhelming" on top of their forecasting duties. The translations are important for more than extreme weather events, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. General weather forecasts are essential for a number of sectors including tourism, transportation and energy. Families and businesses can make more informed decisions when they can get weather information that often includes actions that should be taken based on the forecast. Norma Mendoza-Denton, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said there are many people in the U.S. that function with limited English relevant to their daily routines. For example, a shopkeeper might be able to have short conversations with customers, but might not have the same understanding when it comes to reading weather or climate terminologies. "If they don't have access to that National Weather Service information in the different languages, that could be the difference between life and death for somebody," said Mendoza-Denton. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

National Weather Service no longer translating products for non-English speakers

The National Weather Service is no longer providing language translations of its products, a change that experts say could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather. The weather service has "paused" the translations because its contract with Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, has lapsed, NWS spokesman Michael Musher said. He declined further comment. Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, began providing translations in late 2023, replacing manual translations that the weather service had said were labor-intensive and not sustainable and eventually. It eventually provided them in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan. The contract lapse comes as President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to slash spending in federal agencies, including cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that have led to high employee vacancy rates at NWS offices. NOAA referred questions about the contract to a message on its website announcing the contract had lapsed. Lilt did not respond to requests for comment. Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home, including 42 million Spanish speakers, according to 2019 Census data. Not being able to read urgent weather alerts could be a matter of life or death, said Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has worked with NOAA researching how to translate weather and climate information to the public, including the use of artificial intelligence. He said translated weather alerts saved lives during a deadly tornado outbreak in Kentucky in 2021. A Spanish-speaking family interviewed afterward said they got a tornado alert on their cellphone in English but ignored it because they didn't understand it, he said. When the same alert came in Spanish, they quickly sought shelter, he said. "It saved their life," said Trujillo-Falcón. Trujillo-Falcón said weather alerts used to be translated by forecasters that spoke more than one language, a task that could be "completely overwhelming" on top of their forecasting duties. The translations are important for more than extreme weather events, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. General weather forecasts are essential for a number of sectors including tourism, transportation and energy. Families and businesses can make more informed decisions when they can get weather information that often includes actions that should be taken based on the forecast. Norma Mendoza-Denton, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said there are many people in the U.S. that function with limited English relevant to their daily routines. For example, a shopkeeper might be able to have short conversations with customers, but might not have the same understanding when it comes to reading weather or climate terminologies. "If they don't have access to that National Weather Service information in the different languages, that could be the difference between life and death for somebody," said Mendoza-Denton. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

National Weather Service alerts will no longer be translated for non-English speakers

The National Weather Service has halted its automated translation services for weather alerts until further notice. The change, which was announced last week, is "due to a contract lapse," weather service spokesperson Michael Musher confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY without elaborating further. Language translation software firm Lilt has provided artificial intelligence to translate weather service alerts for over a year. The NWS announced the partnership in October 2023, revealing the AI technology would translate alerts from English to several other languages including Spanish, French, Vietnamese, simplified Chinese and Samoan. "This language translation project will improve our service equity to traditionally underserved and vulnerable populations that have limited English proficiency," the weather service's director Ken Graham said in a news release at the time. "By providing weather forecasts and warnings in multiple languages, NWS will improve community and individual readiness and resilience as climate change drives more extreme weather events." USA TODAY has reached out to Lilt for comment. Trump declares English the official language of US The pause in translation services comes after the Trump administration declared English the official language of the U.S. last month for the first time in the nation's history. President Donald Trump passed the executive order designating one official language to "promote unity, cultivate a shared American culture for all citizens, ensure consistency in government operations, and create a pathway to civic engagement," according to the White House. The order rescinds a mandate former President Bill Clinton passed in 2000 requiring federal agencies and all recipients of federal funding to provide non-English speakers with access to language assistance. Since returning to office in January, Trump has led a hefty crack down on illegal immigration that has long brought people from many countries speaking languages other than English. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which encompasses the NWS, were also among the federal government agencies impacted by the mass terminations of probationary workers. More than 1,020 NOAA employees were laid off, according to a NOAA email sent to staff on March 11 and obtained by USA TODAY. However, The email clarified staff who work in NWS forecast operations and maintenance support were not included in the reductions. Around 67 million people speak non-English languages in the US While English continues to be the most spoken language in the nation, a 2019 U.S. Census Bureau report found 67.8 million others spoke a non-English language at home, a nearly 94% increase from 1980. Spanish was the second most spoken language at home in 2019, according to the census report, with more than 41,000 speakers. "The primary purpose of collecting language data is to measure the proportion of the U.S. population that may need help in understanding English," according to the census report. "Government agencies and other organizations can use these language data to determine the need for translators and other language assistance services."

National Weather Service No Longer Translating Products for Non-English Speakers

The National Weather Service is no longer providing language translations of its products, a change that experts say could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather. The weather service has "paused" the translations because its contract with the provider has lapsed, NWS spokesman Michael Musher said. He declined further comment. Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, began providing translations in late 2023, replacing manual translations that the weather service had said were labor-intensive and not sustainable and eventually. It eventually provided them in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan. The contract lapse comes as President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to slash spending in federal agencies, including cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that have led to high employee vacancy rates at NWS offices. NOAA referred questions about the contract to a message on its website announcing the contract had lapsed. Lilt did not respond to requests for comment. Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home, including 42 million Spanish speakers, according to 2019 Census data. Not being able to read urgent weather alerts could be a matter of life or death, said Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has worked with NOAA researching how to translate weather and climate information to the public, including the use of artificial intelligence. He said translated weather alerts saved lives during a deadly tornado outbreak in Kentucky in 2021. A Spanish-speaking family interviewed afterward said they got a tornado alert on their cellphone in English but ignored it because they didn't understand it, he said. When the same alert came in Spanish, they quickly sought shelter, he said. "It saved their life," said Trujillo-Falcón. Trujillo-Falcón said weather alerts used to be translated by forecasters that spoke more than one language, a task that could be "completely overwhelming" on top of their forecasting duties. The translations are important for more than extreme weather events, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. General weather forecasts are essential for a number of sectors including tourism, transportation and energy. Families and businesses can make more informed decisions when they can get weather information that often includes actions that should be taken based on the forecast. Norma Mendoza-Denton, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said there are many people in the U.S. that function with limited English relevant to their daily routines. For example, a shopkeeper might be able to have short conversations with customers, but might not have the same understanding when it comes to reading weather or climate terminologies. "If they don't have access to that National Weather Service information in the different languages, that could be the difference between life and death for somebody," said Mendoza-Denton. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

National Weather Service no longer translating products for non-English speakers

The National Weather Service is no longer providing language translations of its products, a change that experts say could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather. The weather service has "paused" the translations because its contract with the provider has lapsed, NWS spokesman Michael Musher said. He declined further comment. Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, began providing translations in late 2023, replacing manual translations that the weather service had said were labor-intensive and not sustainable. It eventually provided them in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan. The contract lapse comes as President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to slash spending in federal agencies, including cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that have led to high employee vacancy rates at NWS offices. NOAA referred questions about the contract to a message on its website announcing the contract had lapsed. Lilt did not respond to requests for comment. Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home, including 42 million Spanish speakers, according to 2019 Census data. Not being able to read urgent weather alerts could be a matter of life or death, said Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has worked with NOAA researching how to translate weather and climate information to the public, including the use of artificial intelligence. He said translated weather alerts saved lives during a deadly tornado outbreak in Kentucky in 2021. A Spanish-speaking family interviewed afterward said they got a tornado alert on their cellphone in English but ignored it because they didn't understand it, he said. When the same alert came in Spanish, they quickly sought shelter, he said. "It saved their life," said Trujillo-Falcón. Trujillo-Falcón said weather alerts used to be translated by forecasters that spoke more than one language, a task that could be "completely overwhelming" on top of their forecasting duties. The translations are important for more than extreme weather events, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. General weather forecasts are essential for a number of sectors including tourism, transportation and energy. Families and businesses can make more informed decisions when they can get weather information that often includes actions that should be taken based on the forecast. Norma Mendoza-Denton, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said there are many people in the U.S. that function with limited English relevant to their daily routines. For example, a shopkeeper might be able to have short conversations with customers, but might not have the same understanding when it comes to reading weather or climate terminologies. "If they don't have access to that National Weather Service information in the different languages, that could be the difference between life and death for somebody," said Mendoza-Denton.

National Weather Service Ends English To Spanish Translations For Emergency Warnings

A worker at the NWS told HuffPost that the change could have devastating effects for non-English speakers during critical weather events. The National Weather Service has quietly ended the use of a language translation tool that gave critical information during extreme weather events to non-English speakers. The tool, which used artificial intelligence to translate English emergency warnings into other languages, including Spanish, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Samoan, was taken down on April 1. "The translated text product functionality on this site may be interrupted after 3/31/2025. Further details will be provided when available," a website for the tool now reads. The tool was part of an approved 2023 Congressional budget. "This language translation project will improve our service equity to traditionally underserved and vulnerable populations that have limited English proficiency," Ken Graham, director of the NWS, said at the time. "By providing weather forecasts and warnings in multiple languages, NWS will improve community and individual readiness and resilience as climate change drives more extreme weather events." A spokesperson for the NWS said the tool has ended because of a "contract lapse." "Due to a contract lapse, NWS paused the automated language translation services for our products until further notice," a statement to HuffPost said. Before the new tool, the NWS would manually translate languages. It's unclear if there are plans to return to manual translations. A worker currently at the NWS, who asked to remain anonymous over fears of retaliation, told HuffPost the change could have devastating effects for non-English speakers who rely on emergency warnings. In Miami, Florida, for instance, hurricanes are a yearly threat. The 2024 Census data shows that nearly 70% of the population in Miami is Latino or Hispanic. "Knowing how many people in this country speak Spanish as their primary language, this tool was a quick, easy way to get information out to them," the source said. "Unfortunately, the process is frozen at this moment." The tool also translated languages for NOAA's Weather Radio, which broadcasts critical information during weather events. Work was also being done to add even more languages to the tool. Not anymore. "They've made so much progress in other languages as well, so the fact that they cannot continue the progress on growing this translation tool is just very disappointing," the source said. The removal of the critical tool is another blow to the NWS, which faced massive cuts along with other federal agencies under billionaire Elon Musk's command earlier this year.

National Weather Service will no longer translate emergency warnings...

The National Weather Service is no longer providing language translations of its products, a change that experts say could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather. The weather service has "paused" the translations because its contract with the provider has lapsed, NWS spokesperson Michael Musher said. He declined further comment. Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, began providing translations in late 2023, replacing manual translations that the weather service had said were labor-intensive and not sustainable. It eventually provided them in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan. The contract lapse comes as President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to slash spending in federal agencies, including cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that have led to high employee vacancy rates at NWS offices. NOAA referred questions about the contract to a message on its website announcing the contract had lapsed. Lilt did not respond to requests for comment. Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home, including 42 million Spanish speakers, according to 2019 Census data. Not being able to read urgent weather alerts could be a matter of life or death, said Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who has worked with NOAA researching how to translate weather and climate information to the public, including the use of artificial intelligence. He said translated weather alerts saved lives during a deadly tornado outbreak in Kentucky in 2021. A Spanish-speaking family interviewed afterward said they got a tornado alert on their cellphone in English but ignored it because they didn't understand it, he said. When the same alert came in Spanish, they quickly sought shelter, he said. "It saved their life," said Trujillo-Falcón. Trujillo-Falcón said weather alerts used to be translated by forecasters that spoke more than one language, a task that could be "completely overwhelming" on top of their forecasting duties. The translations are important for more than extreme weather events, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. General weather forecasts are essential for a number of sectors including tourism, transportation and energy. Families and businesses can make more informed decisions when they can get weather information that often includes actions that should be taken based on the forecast. Norma Mendoza-Denton, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said there are many people in the U.S. that function with limited English relevant to their daily routines. For example, a shopkeeper might be able to have short conversations with customers, but might not have the same understanding when it comes to reading weather or climate terminologies. "If they don't have access to that National Weather Service information in the different languages, that could be the difference between life and death for somebody," said Mendoza-Denton.