Inclusion of Spanish Language Content in National Weather Service Forecasts

For the protection of life and property is a bold and simple mission statement for the National Weather Service, so recognizing a growing underserved segment of an area’s population is important to note. Even more important is to act in order to provide life and property information in a language that they can understand.

The greater Memphis metropolitan area has a Spanish speaking population of more than 50,000 according to the 2020 Census. This is an extremely diverse community of native Spanish speakers who do not speak English, those who speak both languages fluently, and those who speak primarily English but also have a cultural or familial tie to the Spanish language. Memphis is not alone in its linguistic diversity; Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States and there are millions of Spanish speakers across the country.

Recognizing this, NWS Memphis developed an approach and campaign to connect weather hazards messaging to this growing segment of the area population. This presentation will highlight how the NWS Memphis office recently implemented Spanish language content into social media posts, severe weather warnings, and general weather safety material. It will also highlight community response and its reaching impacts in the protection of life and property.