National Weather Service posts an AI map with made-up Idaho towns

A local National Weather Service office posted a wind forecast map of rural Idaho on social media. The base map had been made with a generative AI tool. It labeled places that do not exist, such as "Whata Bod." The Washington Post asked the agency about it, and the map was pulled that day. A spokeswoman said the AI-made base map had accidentally shown illegible city names and was quickly corrected. The agency said AI is rarely used for public-facing material but is not banned. It said it would stop using AI where it does not work. An office in South Dakota had posted a map with unreadable place names in November.