AIRPORTS TO HELIPORTS. SEVERE WEATHER ALERTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ARE NOW AN ENGLISH ONLY SERVICE. THIS WEEK, THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY SAYS IT WILL NO LONGER TRANSLATE ALERTS. KCCI’S PETRA PEREIRA IS FOLLOWING THIS TONIGHT. PEPPER. YES, STACY. AND WITH THIS CHANGE, OTHER SPANISH LANGUAGE MEDIA SAYS THEY CAN STEP UP TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW THE LATEST. WHEN STORMS BECOME SEVERE. MOST OF THE TIME, IF YOU TUNE IN TO 95.7 IN DES MOINES, YOU’LL HEAR MUSIC OR PROMOS FOR EVENTS. BUT WHEN THE SKIES GO DARK OVER THE CITY. STATIONS LIKE LAKE BUENA TAKE ON ANOTHER ROLE. WHEN THERE’S A TORNADO COMING, OR THERE’S A SEVERE WEATHER THAT NEEDS TO BE REPORTED. WE LIKE TO GET ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, GET ON THE AIRWAVES AND WARN PEOPLE TO BE SAFE. SINCE JOINING THE STATION IN 2019, ALEJANDRO RIOS ZAMORA MADE IT A PRIORITY TO TRANSLATE SEVERE WEATHER ALERTS BECAUSE FOR A LOT OF HIS LISTENERS, IT’S THE ONLY LANGUAGE THAT THEY TRULY UNDERSTAND. SINCE THEN, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STARTED EXPANDING THE ALERTS TO INCLUDE OTHER LANGUAGES LIKE SPANISH, CHINESE, VIETNAMESE, FRENCH AND SAMOAN. BUT THIS WEEK, ALL OF THOSE TRANSLATIONS STOPPED. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKESMAN MICHAEL MUSSER SAYS THE WEATHER SERVICE HAS PAUSED THE TRANSLATIONS BECAUSE ITS CONTRACT WITH THE TRANSLATIONS PROVIDER LAPSED. HE DID NOT SAY OF ANY EFFORT TO RENEW THE CONTRACT IS BEING PURSUED. BUT FOR IOWA’S SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY, NOT HAVING STORM WATCHES AND WARNINGS TRANSLATED CAN BECOME A DANGER. A LOT OF PEOPLE COME HERE. THEY’RE ON VISAS. THEY COME AT WORK AND PICKING CORN. THEY WORK IN THE FIELDS AND THEY DON’T SPEAK ENGLISH AT ALL. AND THEIR CELL PHONE, IF THEY GET AN ALERT, THEY’RE LIKE, WHAT IS THIS? AND IF IT’S NOT IN SPANISH, SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND THE SEVERITY OF THE OF THE SITUATION. SO EVEN THOUGH HE NEVER STOPPED DELIVERING THE UPDATES, HE SAYS THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSLATING THEM IS NOW EVEN MORE CRUCIAL WHEN THERE’S A TORNADO, IF THERE’S A RIOT OR SOMETHING GOING ON WHERE PEOPLE NEED TO BE SAFE, WE LIKE TO BE ON TOP OF THAT AS WELL AND INFORM THE COMMUNITY. AND IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW NEEDS WEATHER INFORMATION IN SPANISH. THE POLK COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER RECOMMENDS USING A THIRD PARTY APP TO TRANSLATE THE ALERTS YOURSELF. YOU CAN COPY THE ALERT INTO SYSTEMS LIKE GOOGLE TRANSLATE OR THE APPLE TRANSLATE TO SEE T
National Weather Service halts translations, raising safety concerns for non-English speakers
The National Weather Service has announced it will no longer provide severe weather alerts in languages other than English, a move raising concerns about the safety of Iowa’s non-English speakers.The announcement comes after the agency’s contract with a translation provider lapsed, leaving many without direct access to critical storm warnings in their native languages.Previously, the NWS offered weather alerts in languages such as Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan. However, the translation services have now been “paused,” according to NWS spokesperson Michael Musher. The agency has not clarified whether it will renew the contract or find an alternative solution.This change could have serious implications, particularly for Spanish speakers in Iowa, where more than 130,000 residents speak Spanish at home, according to the Iowa State Data Center. Without translated alerts, members of the community may struggle to understand the severity of dangerous weather events.“A lot of people come here on visas — they work in the fields, picking corn — and they don’t speak English at all,” said Alejandro Rios-Zamora, a radio host at 97.5 FM La Q Buena in Des Moines. “If their cellphone gets an alert and it’s not in Spanish, they sometimes don’t understand the severity of the situation.”For stations like La Q Buena, translating weather alerts has become a vital part of their mission. While the station primarily plays music, it shifts focus during severe weather to deliver warnings and updates in Spanish. “When there’s a tornado or severe weather, we get on the airwaves and on social media to warn people to stay safe,” Rios-Zamora said.Rios-Zamora emphasized that providing these translations is now even more critical, as many listeners rely on them to stay informed during emergencies. In the absence of official translations, Polk County’s emergency management recommends using third-party apps like Google Translate or Apple’s iTranslate to manually translate weather alerts.
The National Weather Service has announced it will no longer provide severe weather alerts in languages other than English, a move raising concerns about the safety of Iowa’s non-English speakers.
The announcement comes after the agency’s contract with a translation provider lapsed, leaving many without direct access to critical storm warnings in their native languages.
Previously, the NWS offered weather alerts in languages such as Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan. However, the translation services have now been “paused,” according to NWS spokesperson Michael Musher. The agency has not clarified whether it will renew the contract or find an alternative solution.
This change could have serious implications, particularly for Spanish speakers in Iowa, where more than 130,000 residents speak Spanish at home, according to the Iowa State Data Center. Without translated alerts, members of the community may struggle to understand the severity of dangerous weather events.
“A lot of people come here on visas — they work in the fields, picking corn — and they don’t speak English at all,” said Alejandro Rios-Zamora, a radio host at 97.5 FM La Q Buena in Des Moines. “If their cellphone gets an alert and it’s not in Spanish, they sometimes don’t understand the severity of the situation.”
For stations like La Q Buena, translating weather alerts has become a vital part of their mission. While the station primarily plays music, it shifts focus during severe weather to deliver warnings and updates in Spanish.
“When there’s a tornado or severe weather, we get on the airwaves and on social media to warn people to stay safe,” Rios-Zamora said.
Rios-Zamora emphasized that providing these translations is now even more critical, as many listeners rely on them to stay informed during emergencies. In the absence of official translations, Polk County’s emergency management recommends using third-party apps like Google Translate or Apple’s iTranslate to manually translate weather alerts.