Radio

NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio

Have a question or a complaint about NOAA Weather Radio?  Give us a call between 8:30am and 4:30pm EDT Monday through Friday, or send us an e-mail!  Thank you!

 a Printable Map of local NWR Transmitters
SAME codes: [ Kentucky ][ Indiana ]

Important Note About Tone Alerts and Purchasing NOAA Weather Radios
NWS suggests consumers look for NWR receivers that are compliant with the Consumer Electronics Association Public Alert Standard for Weather Radio Receivers (CEA-2009-A). Those receivers have important features such as SAME and battery backup and should meet the minimum standard for Public Alert radios. Manufacturers that market at least one compliant receiver are shown with a Public Alert logo on the NWR Receiver Consumer Information page.

If NWR listeners are concerned about receiving the Routine Weekly Test (RWT), they should consult their owner’s manual to see how their receiver handles the test and whether it allows them to turn the audio alarm for the RWT back on (the First Alert WX-167 is one model that does).

Some newer model NWR receivers, including but not limited to the Midland WR-100 and First Alert WX-167, will not sound an audio alarm when the RWT is sent.  The Midland WR-100 and First Alert WX-167 receivers were among those sent to schools as part of the DOC/DHS/ED weather radio initiative.

In those cases where the audio alarm is blocked an LED should light up and a visual message appear acknowledging the RWT on the receiver display screen. This is consistent with the CEA 2009-A Public Alert standard which states that the audio RWT alarm may be disabled (blocked) by the manufacturer at the factory.

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NOAA Weather Radio is a service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, broadcasting on seven VHF Band frequencies ranging from 162.400 MHz to 162.550 MHz. These frequencies are outside the normal AM or FM broadcast bands, and are therefore not found on the average home radio.

These broadcasts originate from National Weather Service Offices across the Unites States and its territories. As the Voice of the National Weather Service, more than 400 FM transmitter sites provide continuous broadcasts of the latest and up-to-date weather information.

NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts can be heard as far away as 40 miles from the antenna site. The effective range depends on many factors, particularly the terrain, the quality of the receiver, and current weather conditions.

The broadcast schedule consists of recorded messages which are repeated every three to five minutes and are routinely revised to provide the latest and up-to-date information. The broadcasts on NOAA Weather Radio are tailored to the weather needs of the people within the receiving area, and include a variety of programming subjects.

During severe weather and/or other potentially hazardous events, we interrupt the regularly scheduled programming to substitute severe weather information (including warnings, watches, etc.), and/or other hazardous informational messages. Special NOAA Weather Radio receivers can be activated, sounding an alarm indicating that important information soon follows, and listeners should monitor their weather radios for the information. Also, tests of the warning alarm are normally conducted by the National Weather Service every Wednesday between 11:00 AM and Noon.

In extreme cases, NOAA Weather Radio will be used to alert the public of non-weather related emergencies, such as earthquakes, toxic or chemical spills, civil emergencies, national attacks, or nuclear blasts.

Many local retailers or electronics stores sell NOAA Weather Radios. Also, many portable radios are including a weather band as well. With NOAA Weather Radio, you'll have the most dependable source of weather information at your fingertips. From day-to-day weather forecasts, to warnings of potentially dangerous storms, NOAA Weather Radio will be ready to alert you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! Be Ready! Be Prepared! Be a NOAA Weather Radio listener today.

 NWR BROADCASTS IN THE WFO LOUISVILLE COUNTY WARNING AREA

[ a printable map of local NWR transmitters ]

THE REGULAR PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE FOR OUR NOAA WEATHER RADIOS

INFORMATION AS NEEDED

SPECIFIC AREA MESSAGE ENCODING (SAME)

The National Weather Service has made significant improvements to NOAA Weather Radio that allows listeners to obtain only the warnings, watches, and other information that they desire to receive.

This new technology (called SAME) broadcasts the same information via automated voice, but adds a digital code that enables specially built receivers to decode the information and receive only the information desired by the listener. This way the listener can receive severe warnings, watches and statements for only the the county they live in, or a group of surrounding counties, and not information for the entire NWR broadcast area.

All current and older model NOAA Weather Radio receivers will continue to receive all of the information from the National Weather Service, but it is only the weather radios with the SAME capability that can be programmed to receive only information for specific counties.

Since the SAME codes are fully compatible with the FCC's Emergency Alert System, it is possible in the near future that new television sets, pagers, cellular telephones and other electronic devices will be able to receive these SAME coded messages.

If you have purchased a new weather radio with the SAME capability, and desire to program it for specific counties in your NOAA Weather Radio listening area, you will need the proper county codes (FIPS). A listing of county, SAME code, and transmitter associations is available for:

Kentucky Indiana

Only the most imminent life- and property-threatening hazards are broadcasted with the SAME signal and 1050 Hertz warning alarm tone, where the public has to take immediate action to protect themselves and their property. An operational guideline is that messages are alerted only for hazards urgent enough to warrant waking people up in the "middle of the night" or otherwise interrupting someone's activities at any time.

The following messages are always alerted on a NWR Transmitter if they apply to any part of its coverage area:

MESSAGE EVENT CODE

The following messages are sometimes alerted if they apply to the coverage area of the transmitter, depending on the circumstances.

MESSAGE EVENT CODE


  Miscellaneous Resources  
 

Comments/Suggestions about NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio.
The Official NWR Web Site, and information on the automated voices.
The CRS Web Site
NOAA Weather Radio [ PDF Color Brochure ] [ Text Version ]
  • National Weather Service
  • Louisville, KY Weather Forecast Office
  • 6201 Theiler Lane
  • Louisville, KY 40229-1476
  • 502-969-8842
  • Page Author: LMK Webmaster
  • Web Master's E-mail: w-lmk.webmaster@noaa.gov
  • Page last modified: June 28th 2007 2:41 PM
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