How cellphone carriers prepare for hurricane season with AI, drones and 'cows'

Climate How cellphone carriers prepare for hurricane season with AI, drones and 'cows' June 4, 20265:00 AM ET By  Ayana Archie Residents make phone calls in their neighborhood after heavy rains from hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage on September 28, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina. Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images North America hide caption toggle caption Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images North America Anthony Leone and his wife, Corinne Saunders, have already started watching the weather. In a few weeks, they'll be filling coolers and plugging in generators. He has lived in North Carolina's Outer Banks for more than 20 years. So he's familiar with this routine that precedes the inevitable — hurricane season. As for their cell phones? "We just plan ahead to not use [them]." Weather Forecasters expect slightly fewer hurricanes than usual this year, but the risk of destructive storms is still high Hurricane season runs from June to November, and the National Weather Service said in May it's predicting below-normal activity in the Atlantic region for the first time since 2015. But the chance for at least one very powerful storm remains. Even though there may be slightly less hurricane activity this year, high winds and rain can still interrupt the power supply stationary cell towers rely on. As a result, cellphone carriers are fortifying their preparations with newer tools such as artificial intelligence and drones, so customers in the path of a hurricane can continue to communicate with loved ones, work from home and render aid. Anthony Leone and his wife, Corinne Saunders, kayak in Kitty Hawk Bay, in North Carolina's Outer Banks. Anthony Leone/Anthony Leone hide caption toggle caption Anthony Leone/Anthony Leone Strategies the companies are using Verizon Wireless starts its hurricane response plans about a week before one is forecasted in an area, according to Srini Kalapala, Verizon's senior vice president of wireless engineering and operation...