NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards (NWR) is the "voice of the National Weather Service" and serves as the agency's primary means of communicating around-the-clock weather information to the public. NWR is a nationwide network of over 1000 transmitters broadcasting continuous weather updates directly from the nearest National Weather Service office. Each transmitter broadcasts official National Weather Service forecasts, weather watches and warnings, special statements, and current weather conditions for a specific area. Generally repeated every 4 to 10 minutes, the broadcast cycle is routinely updated every 1 to 3 hours (or more frequently if the weather dictates). During severe weather, routine weather broadcasts can be interrupted to highlight special warning messages concerning imminent threats to life and property.
Working with the Federal Communication Commission's Emergency Alert System (EAS), NWR is an "All Hazards" radio network, making it your single source of comprehensive weather and emergency information. In conjunction with federal, state, and local emergency management and other public officials, NWR can also broadcast information about non-weather hazards, such as earthquakes, chemical or oil spills, AMBER alerts, and 911 telephone outages. NWR is the only federally operated system that broadcasts weather and emergency warnings to the public.
Reception of NWR broadcasts depends on reliable signal reception. Typically a reliable signal can be received up to 40 miles from a station, assuming level terrain. However, NWR transmitters in hilly or urban areas may experience reduced signal reception due to signal blockage. Locally, the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, Ohio is responsible for 9 transmitters that serve its 52 counties spanning parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. The seven frequencies in the VHF band (MHz) that NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts on include:
162.400
162.425
162.450
162.475
162.500
162.525
162.550
Weekly Test:
The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio conducts weekly NOAA Weather Radio tests, allowing those with receivers to ensure their radio properly receives and is activated by the warning signal. The Routine Weekly Test is normally conducted every Wednesday morning between 11 AM and noon. If there is a threat of hazardous weather in the area on Wednesday morning, the test will be postponed until the next available good weather day during the same time frame. This test is an important way to check that your radio is programmed and functioning properly!
NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts heard across southeast Indiana, northern Kentucky, and central/southwest Ohio originate from the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio. Each of our transmitters broadcasts official National Weather Service forecasts, weather watches and warnings, special statements, and current weather conditions for a specific area. Generally repeated every 4 to 10 minutes, the broadcast cycle is routinely updated every 1 to 3 hours (or more frequently if the weather dictates). During severe weather, routine broadcasts can be interrupted to highlight special warning messages concerning imminent threats to life and property.
What types of weather information is available on NOAA Weather Radio?
Brief synopsis detailing weather patterns for the next few days
7-day forecasts of clouds, precipitation, temperatures, and winds
Current weather conditions across the region
Daily/monthly climatological data for Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton
River stage levels and forecasts for points along the Ohio River
Watches and warnings for severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, strong winds, winter weather, etc.
Special weather statements for significant but non-severe weather
What NWS Products will activate the alarm on my NOAA Weather Radio Receiver?
Product
SAME Alert?
1050 Hz Tone?
Blizzard Warning
Yes
Yes
Blizzard Watch
No
No
Winter Storm Warning
Yes
Yes
Winter Storm Watch
No
No
Winter Weather Advisory
No
No
Ice Storm Warning
Yes
Yes
Freezing Rain Advisory
No
No
Wind Chill Warning
Yes
Yes
Wind Chill Watch
No
No
Wind Chill Advisory
No
No
Flash Flood Warning
Yes
Yes
Flash Flood Statement
No
No
Flash Flood Watch
Yes
Yes
Flood Watch
No
No
County (Areal) Flood Warning
Yes
Yes
River Flood Warning
Yes
Yes
Flood Statement
No
No
Flood Advisory
No
No
Tornado Warning
Yes
Yes
Tornado Watch
Yes
Yes
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
Yes
Yes
Severe Thunderstorm Watch
Yes
Yes
Severe Weather Statement
No
No
Special Weather Statement
No
No
High Wind Warning
Yes
Yes
High Wind Watch
No
No
Wind Advisory
No
No
Dense Fog Advisory
No
No
Freezing Fog Advisory
No
No
Excessive Heat Warning
No
No
Excessive Heat Watch
No
No
Heat Advisory
No
No
Freeze Warning
No
No
Freeze Watch
No
No
Frost Advisory
No
No
What Non-Weather Emergency Products will activate the alarm on my NOAA Weather Radio Receiver?
Product
SAME Alert?
1050 Hz Tone?
Administrative Message
No
No
Child Abduction Alert
Yes
No
Civil Danger Warning
Yes
Yes
Civil Emergency Message
Yes
Yes
Earthquake Warning
Yes
Yes
Evacuation Immediate
Yes
Yes
Fire Warning
Yes
Yes
Hazardous Materials Warning
Yes
Yes
Law Enforcement Warning
Yes
Yes
Local Area Emergency
No
No
911 Telephone Outage Emergency
No
No
Nuclear Power Plant Warning
Yes
Yes
Radiological Hazard Warning
Yes
Yes
Shelter In Place Warning
Yes
Yes
Required Weekly Test
Yes
Yes
With Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology, life-saving messages broadcast on NWR can be targeted to a specific area. Many NWR products contain a special digital code with information about the type of event, the applicable geographic area for the event, and how long the event is valid. This allows receivers equipped with SAME technology to be programmed by the user to only alarm for weather and other emergency events in specific, desired counties, thereby eliminating unwanted alerts for areas that are not of concern to the listener. You will need the 6-digit SAME codes below for the counties you wish to program into your receiver.
SAME information can be heard audibly as 3 bursts of digital static (click to hear an example) at the beginning of the product transmission, followed by a 10-second broadcast of the 1050 Hz warning alarm tone (click to hear an example) which precedes the voice message part of the broadcast. Many NOAA Weather Radio receiver models can be set to a muted "standby" mode and will turn on when the alerting message is received. Depending on the receiver brand and model, the receiver will either be activated by the SAME code or the 1050 Hz warning alarm tone. Upon activation, some receiver models may have a flashing light or other visual attention signal. In any case, the 10-second 1050 Hertz warning alarm tone serves as an audible attention signal.
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NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards (NWR)
