National Weather Service Forecast Office

Helpful Hints for programming your NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio

The National Weather Service in Key West operates two NOAA ALL Hazards Weather Radio stations serving the Florida Keys and its adjacent waters.  These stations operate on 162.400 MHz (serving the Keys from Key West through Marathon), 162.450 MHz (serving the Keys from Grassy Key through Key Largo), and 162.425 MHz (serving the extreme upper Keys including Key Largo and Ocean Reef).  NOAA ALL Hazards Weather Radio is the voice of the National Weather Service, providing critical weather warning information for the protection of life and property.  NOAA Weather Radio also provides commercial-free broadcasting of weather forecasts and observations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  NOAA ALL Hazards Weather Radio is an all-hazards public warning system which broadcasts emergency messages to the public as necessary 24 hours a day.  These emergency messages are broadcast for natural hazards (weather emergencies), technological and industrial emergencies (radiation release, chemical releases from accidents), AMBER alerts (child abduction with significant endangerment threat), and terrorist attacks (Homeland Security).  NOAA Weather Radio is the primary means to activate the Emergency Alert System (EAS) for weather emergencies.

• What areas over and near the Florida Keys you are concerned with weather and require National Weather Service forecasts and warnings. 
• The quality of your reception, and to which station you normally listen. 
• When you normally listen to NOAA ALL Hazards Weather Radio forecasts to assist in your planning. 
• What broadcasts you like as-is, and what broadcast could be improved (including shortening, splitting, combining, broadcasting certain forecasts at certain times of the day, etc.) 
• What services ( for example, tide information ) you would like to hear on NOAA Weather Radio that are currently not broadcast. 
• For those of you with interests over and near Key West at the sunset hour, what specific weather information for sunset would assist you in your planning? 

In addition, we are considering several new services using new technologies installed at the National Weather Service in Key West to support the NOAA ALL Hazards Weather Radio program since autumn 1999.  We may consider weekly forums including "Ask a Meteorologist...", a specific marine-oriented program addressing concerns of all who depend on coastal waters weather services, and frequent, live broadcasts to provide highly-detailed, critical information when hazardous weather threatens the Keys.