AI breakthrough: WeatherNext predicts Hurricane Melissa

Google DeepMind's WeatherNext AI model helped the National Hurricane Center predict Hurricane Melissa's Category 5 landfall in Jamaica five days in advance — a historic first. Traditional models struggled to simultaneously predict both storm track and intensity, but WeatherNext bridges this gap by training on decades of global weather data and running 50-scenario ensembles. It predicted Melissa's rapid intensification from Category 1 to Category 5 with 80% confidence five days out, rising to near 100% three days out. This early warning enabled effective evacuations in Jamaica. WeatherNext was the top-performing individual model for track and intensity across the entire 2025 hurricane season, and Google is now expanding the technology to meteorological agencies in the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and other regions.