Weather Alerts in English Only After Translation Contract Ends
The National Weather Service (NWS) has abruptly stopped translating its weather alerts into other languages—a move that could cost lives, experts warn. 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 (NOAA) that have led to high employee vacancy rates at NWS offices.
“Translations are currently paused,” NWS spokesperson Michael Musher confirmed, offering no further explanation.
The now-expired Lilt contract had been in place since late 2023, offering alerts in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, and Samoan. The previous system relied on bilingual forecasters manually translating warnings—a process deemed too slow and unsustainable.
Experts Say This Could Be Deadly
Researchers are sounding the alarm. Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a NOAA collaborator and University of Illinois researcher, said translated alerts were critical during a 2021 Kentucky tornado outbreak.
“A Spanish-speaking family ignored the first alert because it was in English,” he explained. “But when the alert came in Spanish, they immediately sought shelter. It saved their life.”
He emphasized that asking forecasters to translate on top of forecasting is “completely overwhelming.”
Why General Forecasts Matter Too
It’s not just tornadoes and hurricanes that make translations important. Andrew Kruczkiewicz of the Columbia Climate School says multilingual weather information supports tourism, agriculture, transportation, and helps families prepare daily.
“If people can’t understand the actions they’re supposed to take, it weakens the entire purpose of the alert,” he said.
A Public Safety Crisis in the Making
Nearly 68 million U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home, according to 2019 Census data. The decision to drop translations comes amid Trump administration efforts to slash federal spending, including deep cuts at NOAA, which oversees the National Weather Service.
Norma Mendoza-Denton, a UCLA professor, said many Americans operate with only basic English needed for daily tasks.
“They may be able to greet customers, but weather jargon is different,” she said. “If they don’t have access to this information in their language, that could mean life or death.”
 has abruptly stopped translating its weather alerts into other languages—a move that could cost lives,){kind=link}