DeepMind Says AI Beats Hurricane Models by 1 Day in 2023-2025 Study

2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 28

Hundreds of hurricane forecasts from 2023 to 2025 showed DeepMind’s model outperforming widely used systems by significant margins, Google researchers said in a Nature paper.
A day or more of added lead time could sharpen warnings for rapid intensification and give residents more time to evacuate and protect property.
National Hurricane Center forecasters cited AI after correctly warning, three days before Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica last fall, that the storm would rapidly strengthen to the deadliest category.
Meteorologists welcomed the advance but said human forecasters still must interpret AI output, which experts expect to become another guidance tool alongside satellites and hurricane-hunter aircraft.