NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards

The National Weather Radio system is a national wide network of radio transmitters broadcasting continuous weather information directly from the nearest National Weather Service (NWS) office.  NWS broadcast official Weather Service warning, watches, forecasts, and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Working with the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Emergency Alert System, The Network is an "All Hazards" radio network, making it your single source for comprehensive weather and emergency information.  In conjunction with Federal, State, and Local Emergency Managers and other public officials, NWR also broadcasts warning and post-event information for all types of hazards - including natural (i.e., earthquakes), environmental (such as chemical releases or oil spills), and public safety (such as AMBER alerts or 911 Telephone outages).

There is also a sign-up phone notification system to inform of an immediate emergency.  In Sumter County, the system is CodeRED with sign-up here.  In Lake County, the system is Alert Lake with sign-up here.  In Marion County, the system is CodeRED with sign-up here; however there will be a move to Alert Marion in coming weeks.     There is a separate page which provides more detail on the phone alert system.

Why the Focus on Weather Radios?

In various parts of the country, weather sirens are used to warn of approaching risks.   In the state of Florida does not use weather sirens; so our dependency is on the weather radio and phone alert system.   One of the most important reason to own a weather radio is the ability to receive up-to-the-second information on severe weather, such as hurricanes, severe thunderstorms, large hail, strong and damaging winds, tornadoes, and flash floods.

Weekly National Weather Service Tests

There are two tests of the communications to your weather radio which occur on Wednesday for the NWS Ruskin (Tampa) weather region (including Sumter County).  The first test occurs between 10 and noon and the second test occurs between 6 and 8 PM. each week.  An alternative to programming "Yes" to receive the both of the weekly test is to periodically tap the bar to receive the transmission and again to stop the transmission. 

Weather Radio: "SAME" Code

Many weather radio receivers are equipped with a tone alert which will be activated the moment severe weather threatens your immediate area, and the "SAME" (Specific Area Message Encoder) receivers even allow you to select specific counties or if you are close to a county line, select two counties which may or may not have the same transmitter frequency. 

Weather Service Transmitters for This Area

The Weather Radio includes 1025 transmitters (local is Sumterville), across the U. S.  NWR requires a special radio receiver or scanner capable of pickup the signal.   The transmitters use one of seven codes and/or the transmitter frequency listed below.   For residents of Sumter County and those near the county line, the rows with a green background will come the nearest to applying to you.

Above chart effective 5/19/2016

Programming Weather Radios Documents

Midland Weather Radio WR-120 (pdf)

Midland Weather Radio WR-120EZ (pdf)