Why should we have a family emergency plan?
A disaster may strike at any time of the day or night. Your family may not be together when this happens. By planning in advance you will know how to contact one another, how to get back together, and what to do in different situations. For more information, view Your Family's Emergency Plan. Your Family's Emergency Plan
What are some of the ways to receive emergency weather information?
Weather alert radios are an excellent source of receiving weather information. This information comes from your local National Weather Service office. For more information, visit NOAA Weather.
Other ways of receiving emergency weather information includes, listening to a local radio station or watching a local tv station. NOAA Weather
What is the difference between a watch and a warning?
A watch is issued when conditions are favorable for a particular severe weather hazard within the next several hours.
A warning is issued when a particular severe weather hazard is imminent or occurring. It is a warning to take immediate action to protect life and property.
For more information on how to prepare for severe weather, visit NOAA Weather Preparedness. NOAA Weather Preparedness
Why should I care about NOAA Weather Radio?
Thanks to NOAA Weather Radio, you’ll have access to current weather and to potentially life-saving emergency information whenever you need it.
When you purchase a NOAA Weather Radio receiver, you are purchasing part of the National Weather Service network. The network is constantly upgrading its technology to provide the best weather reporting service possible for the nation. For less than the cost of a new pair of shoes, you can own a special weather radio that provides instant access to the same weather reports and emergency information that meteorologists and emergency personnel use – information that can save your life!
Weather radios can provide more than weather information. Civil emergency messages can be broadcast across these radios through the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The National Weather Service will send authorized messages through these radios. In the event of a earthquake, power outages lasting for an extended period of time are highly possible. Because these radios have battery backup power, you will be able to receive important local messages when the power goes out. These messages will be coming from local officials as to what has happened, who has been impacted by this event, and additional essential information.
What types of warnings will the NOAA Weather Radio alert me of?
NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts warnings and post-event information for all types of hazards – both natural (such as earthquakes and volcano activity) and technological (such as chemical releases or oil spills). Working with other federal agencies and the Federal Communications Commission’s new Emergency Alert System (EAS), NOAA Weather Radio is an all-hazards radio network. This makes it the single source for the most comprehensive weather and emergency information available to the public.
Weather radios equipped with a special alarm tone feature can sound an alert and give you immediate information about a life-threatening situation. During an emergency, National Weather Service forecasters will interrupt routine weather radio programming and send out the special tone that activates weather radios in the listening area. The hearing and visually impaired also can get these warnings by connecting weather radios with alarm tones to other kinds of attention-getting devices like strobe lights, pagers, bed-shakers, personal computers, and text printers.
Who needs NOAA Weather Radio?
Public safety experts agree the receivers should be standard equipment in every home. They are especially valuable in places that are entrusted with public safety, including hospitals, schools, places of worship, nursing homes, restaurants, grocery stores, recreation centers, office buildings, sports facilities, theaters, retail stores, bus and train stations, airports, marinas, and other public-gathering places.
Where can I purchase a NOAA Weather Radio?
Check with stores that sell electronics, or call the National Weather Service office closest to you. More information is available through the internet at the National Weather Service’s NOAA Weather Radio website. National Weather Service’s NOAA Weather Radio
What functions does my NOAA Weather Radio need to have?
Weather radios come in many sizes and with a variety of functions and costs. Many of the radios sound a tone alarm and/or turn on the audio when severe weather announcements of emergency information are broadcast. To make use of the new digital coding technology, more sophisticated water radio receivers will be required.
Most NOAA Weather Radio receivers are either battery-operated portables or AC-powered desktop models with battery backup so they can be used in many different situations. Some CB radios, scanners, short wave and AM/FM radios are capable of receiving NOAA Weather Radio transmissions. Many communities throughout the United States also make Weather Radio available on cable TV and broadcast television’s secondary audio programming channels.
What areas does NOAA Weather Radio cover?
Additional NOAA Weather Radio transmitters will continue to expand the nationwide network coverage to more rural areas. With new digital technology, life-saving messages broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio will now be targeted to a specific area, like a county or portion of a state, to bring more hazard-specific information to the listening area. Additional digital technology will provide automated broadcast capability for more timely service.
Digital technology also allows these messages to be automatically received by all the communications industries of the information superhighway (broadcast, cable, satellites and other media) through the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Alert System (EAS).