HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Earlier this year, the National Weather Service conducted an AI Translation Project with the National Hurricane Office and 30 local offices. The closest office that took part in the experimental project was the Nashville office.
The purpose of the project was to effectively communicate hazards and weather information to communities with limited English proficiency. On April 1, the NWS announced it would be pausing the project.
Due to a contract lapse, NWS paused the Automated Language Translation Services for our products until further notice.
National Weather Service
Meteorologist Jessica Camuto reached out to the NWS for comment and was told this was all they could provide at this time. It’s unclear when or if the NWS plans to restart the project.
The local NWS Office in Huntsville was not one of the 30 offices that participated in the project.
How NWS Huntsville Provides Multi-Language Alerts
The NWS in Huntsville has provided weather alerts in English and Spanish for the Tennessee Valley for more than two years. This valuable information is what helps save lives during a severe weather event.
Todd Barron, Meteorologist in Charge at the NWS Office in Huntsville, said the mission of the NWS is to protect life and property.
“Any time that we put out a tornado warning, a severe thunderstorm warning, or a flash flood warning, that automatically creates a graphic on a map that shows where the warning is, who’s impacted, and how long it’s valid for,” says Barron.
These alerts will automatically be posted to X, but during a significant weather event or if there is a confirmed tornado, they will repost it on Facebook.
“Everyone needs to have multiple ways to receive watch and warning information,” added Barron.
Along with the automatic weather alerts that are posted to X, the NWS provides preparedness graphics on its website. This includes Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Preparedness, and more.
To find weather-related preparedness graphics in English on the NWS website, click here. To find weather-related preparedness graphics in Spanish on the NWS website, click here.
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