DENVER — The National Weather Service's translation services, including alerts for non-English speakers, have come to an abrupt halt.
This is now sparking concerns for communities in Colorado that depend on these potentially life-saving weather warnings.
The National Weather Service (NWS) was previously providing translation services in five different languages, thanks to a partnership with Lilt, an artificial intelligence company.
According to a statement Denver7 received from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service's contract with Lilt "recently lapsed" earlier this month, meaning a pause in those services until further notice. NOAA would not comment further.
The lapse comes as the Trump administration seeks to reduce federal spending, which includes cuts within NOAA, though the organization could not confirm if this was directly related.
Denver7 spoke with Araceli, who lives in Bennett, Colorado, and primarily speaks Spanish. She said her notifications stopped coming in a few weeks ago.
Araceli said she relies on alerts from the NWS so she is prepared for anything.
"Then we can take the necessary precautions. For example, if there's hail coming, we can cover our cars," she said, in Spanish.
"All of a sudden, there could be high wind and extreme weather alerts, fire alerts, for example," she added. "It's important to receive these notifications."
Metropolitan State University Denver professor Erin Roberson, who works in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, previously worked for the National Weather Service. She told Denver7 that she has heard several stories about how these alerts have provided life-saving information to families, including one who experienced a tornado.
"A family who spoke Spanish, when they received the warning in English, initially, they ignored it, but then, once it came out in Spanish, they realized that they were in danger, and they took shelter," Roberson said.
Roberson said not having access to these services can have dangerous consequences.
"Even something as simple as lightning can be dangerous, and lightning is something that happens quite frequently in Colorado," she said, "Just having that weather information is really important for people to stay safe when they're out in the world. Weather information shouldn't be reserved for only people who speak English."
Additionally, Denver7 sat down with Maria Akrabova, chairperson for MSU's department of world languages, who said Spanish speakers in Colorado alone make up about 22% of the population.
"This is upwards of a million and a half people," Akrabova said. "We do have speakers of French, speakers of Mandarin, who will also be affected."
Akrabova said when looking at the numbers nationally, around 25 million people in the U.S. have limited English proficiency, and many of them live in areas vulnerable to natural disasters.
Akrabova said language services, such as translations and interpretations, are often treated as add-ons or luxuries when, in fact, they are essential.
"If you get an emergency notification that requires your evacuation or urgent safety measures and you don't understand what is going on, that is a direct impact on safety and survival," she said.
It is still unclear if the NWS' translation services have been stopped temporarily or permanently.
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