NOAA Weather Radio is a free public service provided by the National Weather Service. It consists of continuous broadcasts of current weather conditions, forecasts, and warnings localized for your area.
At the Wilmington National Weather Service, we operate five weather radio transmitters serving portions of the eastern Carolinas. The map below displays the frequency and coverage area of each transmitter. The six-digit numbers displayed below each county name are the FIPS (Federal Information Processing System) codes used to program weather radios with the SAME feature (more information below).
Currently, weather radio broadcasts are automatically generated using a computer system called CRS - Console Replacement System. A computer "reads" our forecasts and warnings on the air as soon as they are issued, saving time which used to be spent printing, editing, and manually reading the forecasts. In a severe weather situation, these extra few minutes can mean the difference between life and death.
Weather radios can be purchased at most electronics and department stores, or over the internet. Different models are available with a variety of features and prices. Some models can even be customized with your county FIPS code so they will only alarm with your warnings -- and not for a storm 50 miles away. See the transmitter coverage map above for local FIPS codes, or this page for FIPS codes for anywhere in the country.
For additional information on NOAA Weather Radio, see the national page at: https://weather.gov/nwr/