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Ai is Stepping into Weather

· Weather,Ai

Ai is Stepping into Weather

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AI systems can help predict the time, intensity, and range of a storm, which could save the lives of citizens that live in areas with risks of severe weather.

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A number of the largest tech companies are venturing into applying AI to weather, including IBM's recent partnership with the Weather Company.

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But, AI is already making a difference today in the US state of Maryland!

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Take Ellicott City for example - using AI allows the residents to have an understanding of when a storm may hit.

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Giving residents the needed time to evacuate from a potentially dangerous area.

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On May 27 of 2018, a rainstorm killed one person in Ellicott City, and caused floods that tossed around cars.

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The National Weather Service believed that a storm like this would appear once every 1,000 years.

In response to this storm, Ellicott City upgraded their defense against storms.

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With help from Microsoft and the University of Vermont, a map was generated from aerial imagery with the help of artificial intelligence.

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It shows objects as small as 3 feet square, roughly 1,000 times more precise than the maps that flood planners previously used.

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The program, which cost $3.5 million and took a year to make, will eventually offer “live dashboards” and automated alerts to serve as a warning system when new development threatens to overwhelm storm water management capacity.

With this new technology, many lives will be saved.

Written by Albert Daniel Shub, Edited by Rachel Weissman & Alexander Fleiss