Researchers advance first-of-its-kind AI tool for translating life-saving weather warnings across the US – News Bureau
Publish Date: 2026-06-01 13:05:00
Source Domain: news.illinois.edu
- Nearly 69 million people in the United States speak a language other than English at home, and the National Weather Service (NWS) has traditionally issued weather warnings almost exclusively in English.
- The NWS, in partnership with artificial intelligence (AI) translation platform LILT, is now developing a comprehensive translation program to deliver weather forecasts and alerts in multiple languages including Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Samoan.
- The urgency for accurate and culturally sensitive translation intensified in the 1970s and ’80s, exemplified by the Saragosa tornado disaster where inadequate translations caused harm.
- The new AI program drastically reduces the time and effort required for translation, translating messages in 5 to 7 minutes with accuracy above 95%, compared to the up to an hour manual translation by bilingual forecasters.
- The AI program enhances public safety, as evidenced by its implementation in hurricane advisories for the 2025 season, providing life-saving information to both the U.S. and Latin America.
- The program also benefits the American economy through providing tourists and event-goers with vital weather information.
- The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s ALERTAS lab and Department of Communication led the study, emphasizing the multidisciplinary approach, including geographic information systems to identify translation needs and social science evaluations.
- The program is expected to expand with contributions from multiple universities and continuous evaluation to measure public response effectively.
