|
|
NWS Jacksonville Home
» NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio
General Information |
NOAA All Hazards
Weather Radio is a service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. As the "Voice
of the National Weather Service", it provides continuous broadcasts of the
latest weather information from local National Weather Service offices.
Weather messages are generally repeated every 5 to 10 minutes and are
routinely updated every 1 to 3 hours or more frequently in rapidly changing
weather conditions or if a nearby hazardous environmental condition
exists.
The regular broadcasts are specifically tailored to weather information needs
of the people within the local service area of the transmitter. For example,
in addition to general weather information, stations in coastal areas provide
information of interest to mariners. Other specialized information, such as
hydrological forecasts and climatological data, may be broadcast.
During severe weather,
National Weather Service forecasters issue special warning messages
concerning imminent threats to life and property. Special signals are
added to warnings that trigger alerting features of specially
equipped receivers. In the simplest case, this signal activates audible or
visual alarms, indicating that an emergency condition exists within the
broadcast areas of the station being monitored and alerts the listener to turn
up the volume and stay tuned for more information. More sophisticated
receivers are automatically turned on and set to an audible volume when an alert is received.
Tests of the NOAA Weather Radio warning alarm are
conducted every Wednesday between 10 AM & noon If there is the threat of
severe weather, the test is postponed until the next available good-weather
day. |
|
Specific Area Message Encoder
(SAME) |
The National Weather Service recently began using a new alert
system called Specific Area Message
Encoder (SAME). This new alert system employs digital coding to activate
only specially programmed receivers for specific emergency conditions in a
specific area, typically a county. Television, cable and radio stations can
use SAME to allow their listeners to hear warnings as they are being issued.
SAME is also the primary activator for the new Emergency Alert System which
replaced the Emergency Broadcast System on January 1, 1997. Operations and Programming for
NWR Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) contains information on how to
program your NWR SAME receiver including SAME codes for every
county/parrish/independent city. New programmable NOAA All Hazards Weather
Radios are on the market now which utilize SAME technology. Here is a listing
of all the SAME County
Codes (FIPS Codes) used for the new SAME programmable NOAA All Hazards
Weather Radios.
Under a January 1995 White House policy
statement, NOAA Weather Radio was designated the sole Government-operated
radio system to provide direct warnings into private homes for both natural
disasters and nuclear attack. This concept has recently been expanded to include
warnings for all hazardous conditions that pose a threat to life and safety,
both at a local and national level.
|
Where to purchase a NOAA Weather Radio |
Special radios that receive only NOAA Weather Radio, both with and without the
spacial alerting features (SAME), are available from several manufacturers.
In addition, other manufacturers are including NOAA Weather Radio as special
features on an increasing variety of receivers. NOAA Weather Radio capability
is currently available on some automobile, aircraft, marine, citizen band, and
standard AM/FM radios, as well as communications receivers, transceivers,
scanners, and cable TV. Click here for more
consumer information, including a list of some weather radio
manufacturers.
|
NOAA All Hazard Weather Radio Coverage &
Frequencies |
NOAA Weather Radio coverage is limited to an area usually 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. In general, those on flat terrain or at sea, using a high quality receiver, can expect reliable reception far beyond 40 miles. Those living in cities surrounded by large buildings and those in mountain valleys with standard receivers may experience little or no reception at considerably less than
40 miles. If possible, a receiver should be tested in the location where it will be used prior to purchase. NOAA Weather Radio is directly available to approximately 70 to 80 percent of the U.S. population. The National Weather Service is currently engaged in a program to increase coverage to 95 percent of the population.
NOAA Weather radio
currently broadcasts from 940 FM transmitters
on seven frequencies in the VHF band, ranging from 162.400 to 162.550
megahertz (MHz) in fifty states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and
Saipan. These frequencies are outside of the normal AM or FM broadcast
bands. The National Weather Service broadcasts continuous weather
information 24 hours a day on the following frequencies: 162.550 MHz,
162.400 MHz, 162.475 MHz, 162.425 MHz, 162.450 MHz, 162.500 MHz, and 162.525
MHz.
|
If you have additional questions or comments about the NWS Jacksonville NOAA Weather Radio program, e-mail Mike
McAllister, Observation Program Leader.
Page last modified: February 10, 2009
|