Abstract
To advance a Weather-Ready Nation, the National Weather Service (NWS) is developing a systematic translation program to better serve the 68.8 million people in the U.S. who do not speak English at home. This article outlines the foundation of an automated translation tool for NWS products, powered by artificial intelligence. The NWS has partnered with LILT, whose patented training process enables large language models (LLMs) to adapt neural machine translation (NMT) tools for weather terminology and messaging. Designed for scalability across Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) and National Centers, the system is currently being developed in Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, and other widely spoken non-English languages. Rooted in best practices for multilingual risk communication, the system provides accurate, timely, and culturally relevant translations, significantly reducing manual translation time and easing operational workloads across the NWS. To guide the distribution of these products, GIS mapping was used to identify language needs across different NWS regions, helping prioritize resources for the communities that need them most. We also integrated ethical AI practices throughout the program's design, ensuring that transparency, fairness, and human oversight guide how automated translations are created, evaluated, and shared with the public. This work has culminated into a website featuring experimental multilingual NWS products, including translated warnings, 7-day forecasts, and educational campaigns, bringing the country one step closer to a national warning system that reaches all Americans.
Abstract (translated)
为了打造一个“天气准备就绪”的国家，美国国家气象局（NWS）正在开发一项系统化的翻译计划，以便更好地服务于在美国家中不讲英语的6880万人口。本文概述了一种由人工智能驱动的自动化翻译工具的基础框架，该工具专门用于NWS产品。NWS已与LILT合作，后者采用专利培训流程使大型语言模型（LLMs）能够适应神经机器翻译（NMT）工具，以应对气象术语和信息传达的需求。这个系统旨在在天气预报办公室（WFOs）和国家中心之间实现可扩展性，并且目前正在西班牙语、简体中文、越南语和其他广泛使用的非英语语言中开发。 基于多语言风险沟通的最佳实践，该系统提供了准确及时的文化相关翻译，大大减少了手动翻译时间，减轻了NWS的操作负担。为指导这些产品在不同地区的分发，GIS地图被用来识别各地区对特定语言的需求，从而帮助优先考虑最需要资源的社区。 在整个计划的设计中还集成了伦理AI实践，确保透明度、公平性及人工监督引导自动化翻译的创建、评估和与公众分享的过程。这一工作已形成了一个网站，展示了一系列实验性的多语言NWS产品，包括翻译警告、七天预报和教育宣传活动，使美国朝着建立覆盖所有公民的全国预警系统的目标迈进了一步。
URL
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.14369
