7-Channel WRSAME Weatheradio w/Alert
(120-0250) Weather Alert Descriptions Faxback Doc. # 51407
How Your Radio Works
Traditional weather radios simply receive NOAA's weather broadcast
(usually within a 50-mile radius) then sound an alarm if any emergency
code was transmitted along with the broadcast. This means that people who
live outside an affected area are often alerted when their area is not
affected, causing many of them to ignore potentially real weather warnings
that can save lives.
In 1994, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began
broadcasting coded signals called FIPS (Federal Information Processing
System) codes along with their standard weather broadcasts from stations
in your area. These codes identify an emergency and the specific
geographic area (such as a county) affected by the emergency. Your
Weatheradio receives, interprets, and displays information about the codes
so you can determine if the emergency might affect your area. Only SAME-
compatible weather radios (such as your new Weatheradio) are able to take
advantage of this new technology.
Each FIPS code identifies a specific geographic area (defined by the
National Weather Service), so your Weatheradio sounds an alert only when a
weather emergency is declared in those locations. This helps you more
efficiently track the weather conditions in and around your area.
When A Weather Alert Occurs
When the Weatheradio receives a weather alert:
it sounds an alert (siren or beep),
a description of the alert appears,
an indicator on the front of the Weatheradio lights.
Note: If the Weatheradio receives more than one weather alert at the same
time, it displays information about each alert.
The alert descriptions your Weatheradio can display are based on a list of
specific weather alert types published by the NWS. For a list of all the
alert descriptions that your Weatheradio can display, see "NWS Weather
Alert Descriptions," below.
CAUTION: The NWS uses sophisticated weather models to determine an
alert's effective time. However, the end of an alert does not
necessarily mean that the related weather emergency is over.
NWS Weather Alert Descriptions
Your Weatheradio can display these NWS weather alert descriptions. For
easy reference, this list also shows the type of alert (siren of beep)
that sounds during each alert.
WEATHER/ALERT
DESCRIPTION YOU SEE YOU HEAR
Avalanche warning AVALANCHE WARNING Siren
Avalanche watch AVALANCHE WATCH Siren
Blizzard warning BLIZZARD WARNING Siren
Civil danger warning CIVIL DANGER WARNING Siren
Civil danger watch CIVIL DANGER WATCH Siren
Civil emergency - turn TUNE TV Siren
on the TV for information
or, if no information is
available on TV, call your
local NWS office.
Note: TUNE TV might also indicate the Weatheradio has received a signal
for a condition not defined in the Weatheradio's memory (see
"Locking Out Undefined Weather Descriptions" in Faxback Doc. #
51409.
Coastal flood Warning COASTAL FLOOD WARNING Siren
Coastal flood watch COASTAL FLOOD WATCH Siren
Emergency action warning EMERGENC ACTION WARNING Siren
Emergency action termination EMERGENC ACTION TERMINAT Beeps
Evacuate immediately EVACUATE IMMEDIAT Siren
Fire warning FIRE WARNING Siren
Flash flood statement FLASH FLOOD Beeps
Flash flood warning FLASH FLOOD WARNING Siren
Flash flood watch FLASH FLOOD WATCH Siren
Flood statement FLOOD Beeps
Flood warning FLOOD WARNING Siren
Flood watch FLOOD WATCH Siren
Hazardous material warning HAZARD MATERIAL WARNING Siren
Hazardous material watch HAZARD MATERIAL WATCH Siren
High wind warning HIGH WIND WARNING Siren
High wind watch HIGH WIND WATCH Siren
Hurricane statement HURRICAN Beeps
Hurricane warning HURRICAN WARNING Siren
Hurricane warning HURRICAN WATCH Siren
Immediate evacuation warning IMMEDIAT EVACUATE WARNING Siren
Law enforcement warning LAW ENFORCE WARNING Siren
Local area emergency LOCAL AREA EMERCENC Siren
National information center NATIONAL INFO CENTER Siren
Periodic national test NATIONAL PERIODIC TEST Beeps
Practice/Demo DEMO MESSAGE Nothing
Radiological hazard warning RADIOLOG HAZARD WARNING Siren
Radiological hazard watch RADIOLOG HAZARD WATCH Siren
Required monthly test MONTHLY TEST Beeps
Required weekly test WEEKLY TEST Beeps
Severe thunderstorm warning SEVERE THUNDER WARNING Siren
Severe thunderstorm watch SEVERE THUNDER WATCH Siren
Severe weather statement SEVERE WEATHER Beeps
Shelter in-place warning SHELTER IN-PLACE WARNING Siren
Special marine warning SPECIAL MARINE WARNING Siren
Special weather statement SPECIAL WEATHER Beeps
Test message TEST MESSAGE Nothing
Tornado warning TORNADO WARNING Siren
Tornado watch TORNADO WATCH Siren
Tsunami warning TSUNAMI WARNING Siren
Tsunami watch TSUNAMI WATCH Siren
Unrecognized code ending in S UNKNOWN STATEMENT TUNE TV Siren
Unrecognized code ending in W UNKNOWN WARNING TUNE TV Siren
Unrecognized code ending in A UNKNOWN WATCH TUNE TV Siren
Unrecognized code ending in E UNKNOWN EMERGENC TUNE TV Siren
Volcano warning VOLCANO WARNING Siren
Volcano watch VOLCANO WATCH Siren
Winter storm warning WINTER STORM WARNING Siren
Winter storm watch WINTER STORM WATCH Siren
Note: An authorized service center can add storage for up to 5 additional
weather/alert descriptions to your Weatheradio's memory. Contact
your local RadioShack store for more information.
Understanding FIPS Codes
For the purpose of broadcasting weather information, the NWS has divided
the United States into regions by state and county (or parish, where
applicable) then assigned a 6-digit FIPS code toe identify each county or
parish. For example, the code for Tarrant County, Texas, is 048439.
The first digit is a FIPS code identifies the county subdivision, the next
two digits identify the state, and the last three digits identify the
county or parish.
Note: Most FIPS codes begin with 0, which means that FIPS code represents
an entire county. The NWS, however, eventually plans to subdivide
some large counties. When that happens, each subdivision will be
assigned a digit form 1-9, resulting in codes such as 148439,
248439, and so on.
Your Weatheradio can receive all SAME alert signals broadcast within about
a 50-mile radius of where you installed it. To receive SAME alerts and
broadcasts about weather occurring only in particular counties within that
area, you can program up to 15 FIPS codes into the Weatheradio's memory.
For example, this lets you avoid hearing an alert that applies to an area
within a 50-mile radius but not necessarily to your county or parish.
Obtaining Your Area's FIPS Code(s)
To obtain the FIPS code for the location where you installed your
Weatheradio, contact your local RadioShack store or call the NWS toll free
at 1-888-NWR-SAME (1-888-697-7263). If you call the NWS, follow the
instructions you hear.
Note: If you are close to a county or parish line, you might want to
obtain the codes for the nearby counties or parishes.
HINT: Since you can program up to 15 FIPS codes into the Weatheradio's
memory, you might want to obtain the codes for other local areas
that you frequently travel through (as long as those areas are
within a 50 mile radius of your location and within an area covered
by your local NWS broadcast station). That way, you can program
those codes into the Weatheradio and receive broadcasts covering
those locations, too.
(EB 2/12/99)
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