AI Predicts Hurricanes Before They Form

WooGlobe

When Hurricane Katrina forced 8-year-old Will Downs and his family to flee their home, he had no idea that moment would spark a lifelong fascination with storms. Now a PhD student, Will is using artificial intelligence to change how we track hurricanes before they form. His AI model detects tropical easterly waves — cloud and wind clusters that can evolve into powerful storms — far more accurately than traditional tools. With support from the National Hurricane Center, his groundbreaking system is already in use during this active hurricane season. Discover how this former storm survivor is helping predict the next big one before it hits. WooGlobe Ref : WGA621969 For licensing and to use this video, please email licensing@wooglobe.com

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00:00When Hurricane Katrina hit, 8-year-old Will Downs and his family fled in the dead of night.

00:05What started as fear turned into fascination.

00:08Now a Ph.D. student at the University of Miami,

00:11Will is leading a breakthrough in hurricane forecasting.

00:14He's built a powerful AI model that tracks tropical easterly waves,

00:18clusters of clouds and winds that often turn into hurricanes.

00:21These waves start off Africa's coast and journey across the Atlantic.

00:25Most fade out.

00:27But some become monsters like Hurricane Ian.

00:30Until now, identifying and tracking them was tough.

00:33But Will's AI? It's crushing it.

00:36By analyzing decades of storm data and weather patterns,

00:39his model detects where waves are, where they're going, and how intense they might become.

00:44This isn't science fiction.

00:46The National Hurricane Center is already using it.

00:48And with hurricane season heating up, his work couldn't be more urgent.

00:52AI might not stop the next big storm.

00:55But thanks to Will Downs, we might see it coming a lot sooner.

00:59No more on those sites.

01:00There is no other place to be the expert in this country.

01:02There is no such type of crisis.

01:04No too much.

01:05No, never.

01:06But what happened in this country.

01:07Did you not be in this country,

01:08I'll take a lot of coffee.

01:09I'm starving and I'll take a lot of coffee.

01:11To be honest with you.

01:12No, never mind.

01:13No, never mind.

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