JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We are just 101 days away from hurricane season, and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has been preparing by enhancing many of their products.
Spanish language advisory text products: A notable addition to this year's products is the expansion of Spanish advisories and warning information.
Jamie Rhome, Deputy Director of the NHC, emphasized the importance of making weather updates more accessible, stating, "Whenever you're speaking in a native language to people, it's easier for them to not only understand the information but also connect with it and resonate with it."
Previously, only the Public Advisories and Tropical Weather Outlooks were available in Spanish through the National Weather Service Office in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Those products, along with the Tropical Cyclone Discussion, the Tropical Cyclone Update and Key Messages, will now be available through the National Hurricane Center directly.
"We want to make sure our products are easily accessible to everyone who needs that information,” said Rhome. “And that includes providing all that warning information in the native language for our Spanish-speaking audience."
The translation of advisories and warning information into Spanish is made possible by artificial intelligence (AI). Maria Torres, Communications and Public Affairs Officer and Meteorologist for the NHC, worked on the project. She watched the AI model translate their English products from 2022 and 2023 storms.
“And as we would find errors, any mistakes or anything like that, we would go ahead and make corrections so that way the model would learn very fast, very quickly, and adjust and adapt to those changes,” Torres said.
Torres said the Spanish-speaking audience will now be able to better understand the information and right away make the actions necessary to prepare them and their families.
The First Coast News app and website will also bring you coverage in Spanish during hurricanes. Visit our La Primera Costa page.
Issuance of U.S. watches and warnings on Intermediate advisories: U.S. tropical storm, hurricane, and storm surge watches and warnings will also be issued on Intermediate advisories. Previously, they were only issued on full or special advisories packages (normally at 5 a.m., 11 a.m., 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.).
Extension of wind radii forecasts: Tropical storm and hurricane wind radii forecasts have been extended to days 4 and 5, facilitating long-range impact forecasts. An example now including the extended outlook of days 4 and 5 can be found here.
Weblinks in the Public Advisory: The Public Advisory product will now include references to websites with graphical hazard information.
Experimental Cone Graphic with inland watches are warnings: The hurricane forecast cone will now include inland tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings.
Experimental international tropical cyclone rainfall graphics: The Weather Prediction Center (WPC) is partnering with the NHC to issue an experimental rainfall graphic for the Caribbean and Central America.
New Marine Forecast Product “Offshore Waters Forecast for the southwestern North Atlantic Ocean”: The current Offshore Waters Forecast for the Southwest and Tropical North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea issued by the Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch (TAFB) of the National Hurricane Center will be divided into southern and northern zones. The products can be found here.
Don’t forget to stay with the First Coast’s Most Accurate Weather Team this hurricane season.