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You are at NWS Houston/Galveston »
NOAA Weather Radio
NOAA Weather Radio
General Information
NOAA Weather Radio is directly available to approximately 70 to 80 percent of the U.S.
population. The Weather Service is currently engaged in a program to increase coverage
to 95 percent of the population.
For as little as $20, you can have current weather information and forecasts broadcast
into your home, business, boat or automobile 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can
pick up one of these radios at your local electronics store such as Radio Shack. Cost of
the radio will vary from around $20 for the basic radio, and more for the more advanced.
Most of the radios are portable and can be taken with you almost anywhere, even
different parts of the country!
By nature and by design, NWR coverage is limited to an area within 40 miles of the
transmitter. The quality of what is heard is dictated by the distance from the
transmitter, local terrain, and the quality and location of the receiver.
There are three basic types of weather radios:
- Scanner...Marine Radio...Basic Weather Radio - monitor only
- Tone Alert Weather Radio - automatically activated when a 1050Hz tone
issued for any of the counties in broadcast range; cost range $20-50
- Specific Area Message Encoder (SAME) - automatically activated for
only the counties you choose; cost range $40-70
Receiver Recalls
For information on weather radio receiver recalls, go to the
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) web site and enter "weather radio"
in the "HELP/ADVANCED SEARCH" section in the upper left corner.
Broadcast Schedules
Currently, the Houston/ Galveston National Weather Service Office is responsible for
the programming of FIVE Weather Radios: Galveston, Houston, College Station, Bay City and Onalaska.
Information on NWR broadcasts in other parts of the U.S., can be found on this site which has
a list of stations nationwide.
Look below for the broadcast schedule of your favorite NWR station. Remember...all times listed are LOCAL times.
FIPS Codes
The National Weather Service uses several different codes to identify counties
during varying weather events. One such code, FIPS Codes, helps identify specific
states and counties during severe weather events. When combined with a specific
event such as a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning, the FIPS Code will
identify which state and county the warning affects. For example, when we here at
the National Weather Service issue a tornado warning for Montgomery County, the
FIPS Codes would follow as: 048339. The 048 part of the code signals to the
public that this product refers to a county in the State of Texas...with the 339 part of
the code specifically identifying Montgomery County. If you put it in a handy
reference manual and you know the state identifier and the list of county
identifiers...you can pinpoint any county in the United States without reading the
text. Thus...this code helps computer programmers with television...radio...private
companies...and the National Weather Service help automatically monitor severe
weather around the country and...more specifically...their specific areas of interests.
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