National Weather Service Pauses Translations For Non-English Speakers

The AI technology translated alerts from English to several other languages including Spanish, French, Vietnamese, simplified Chinese and Samoan.

The National Weather Service will no longer translate weather alerts for non-English speakers.

The change is “due to a contract lapse” with language translation software firm, ‘Lilt.’ The company has provided artificial intelligence to translate weather service alerts after a partnership with the NWS was confirmed in 2023.

The AI technology translated alerts from English to several other languages including Spanish, French, Vietnamese, simplified Chinese and Samoan.

The NWS director previously said providing forecasts and warnings in multiple languages would help improve community and individual readiness when it comes to weather events.

Now, the companies will no longer be working together to provide the translations. However, it is unclear what translated services will be halted.

The translation pause 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.