NOAA Weather Radio (NWR)

Introduction to NOAA Weather Radio

• NOAA Weather Radio provides a continuous broadcast of the latest weather information for your local area from the National Weather Service. NOAA Weather Radio is an "all hazards" radio network, working in conjunction with the Federal Communication Commission's Emergency Alert System. In addition to weather related watches and warnings, the Weather Radio system can provide information on all types of hazards, including Civil and National Emergency Messages.
  
  The programs can be found on the VHF radio band, on frequencies ranging from 162.400 to 162.550 MHz. There are over 750 Weather Radio transmitters across the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Pacific Territories, and the number is growing. North Carolina is served by over 27 NOAA Weather Radio transmitters which are located within North Carolina as well as in 3 neighboring states. These transmitters provide broadcasts to all 100 counties in North Carolina including the adjacent coastal waters. Information on the Weather Radio transmitters that serve North Carolina is available on the North Carolina NOAA Weather Radio Network web page.
  
  By nature and design, NOAA Weather Radio coverage is limited to an area within 40 miles of the transmitter. The quality of what is heard is dictated by the distance from the transmitter, local terrain, and the quality and location of the receiver. In general, those on flat terrain, using a high quality receiver, can expect reliable reception far beyond 40 miles. Those living in cities surrounded by large buildings or in hilly areas may experience poor reception at considerably less than 40 miles



 

NOAA Weather Radio Stations Serving Central NC

NOAA Weather Radio Stations Serving All of NC

NOAA Weather Radio Broadcast Schedule

• • North Carolina is served by over 30 NOAA Weather Radio transmitters which are located within North Carolina as well as in 3 neighboring states. These transmitters provide broadcasts to all 100 counties in North Carolina including the adjacent coastal waters. Information on the Weather Radio transmitters that serve North Carolina is available on the North Carolina NOAA Weather Radio Network web page.
  • New technology in the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) program has enabled the creation of NWR audio MP3 files that can be accessed on this web page. The files are updated in near-real time but because these items are experimental, their timeliness cannot be guaranteed. Note that only routine products are available and that Watches, Warnings, and Advisories will not be available on this page.
    
    This is not a true broadcast feed. The software that creates the individual segments used on the NWR broadcast has been set up to create individual MP3 files which are then sent to this web page. Note that the files are between 100 and 250 KB each and that they will need to be re-downloaded to hear any updates or changes, they will not update automatically.
    
    Click on the audio icon (speaker) in the table below to hear the product you are interested in. The products are listed in columns by transmitter and in rows by the type of the product. If you are unsure about which transmitter covers the area you are interested in, click on the name of the transmitter and a coverage map will appear. You can also click on a county on our NWR County Information Map and all of the transmitters covering that county will be listed.
    
     

    	Chapel Hill	Tarboro	Fayetteville	Winston- Salem	Buck  Mountain	Garner	Henderson	Ellerbe
    Weather  Synopsis
    Hourly  Weather  Roundup
    Near Term Forecast
    Extended  Forecast
    Daily Climate  Summary

  
  
   
  • For stations served by the NWS office in Raleigh, North Carolina, routine programming consists of a brief weather synopsis, your area's seven day forecast, and hourly weather conditions. Daily climate summaries are added in the morning, and again in the evening. Short term forecasts elaborate on events that will occur within 1 to 6 hours.
    
    During significant weather events, routine programming is reduced, in order to rapidly cycle important weather information directly from your National Weather Service office. Tornado, Severe Thunderstorm, and Flash Flood warnings are transmitted within seconds of their official issuances. Watches, warnings, and advisories for significant weather events such as winter storms, high winds, river flooding, and extremes of heat and cold, are included in the programs when these events affect the radio's service area. Hurricane and Tropical Storm bulletins from the National Hurricane Center are added when a given storm is in the western Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, or the northern Caribbean Sea, north of latitude 18 degrees north, and west of longitude 65 degrees west.
    
    In cooperation with State and County Emergency Management officials, Civil Emergency Messages will be transmitted and alarmed on the Weather Radio. This would include notification of an emergency at the Shearon Harris Power Plant.
  
  
  
   
  • The newer NOAA Weather Radio receivers require special codes so the receiver will send an alert when there is severe weather. Here is a list of the codes for each of the counties for which the Raleigh office broadcasts.
     

    Alamance	037001	Grayson	051077	Pitt	037147
    Allexander	037003	Greene	037079	Pittsylvania	051143
    Alleghany	037005	Guilford	037081	Randolph	037151
    Anson	037007	Halifax	037083	Richmond	037153
    Bertie	037015	Harnett	037085	Robeson	037155
    Bladen	037017	Henry	051089	Rockingham	037157
    Brunswick	051025	Hoke	037093	Rowan	037159
    Cabarrus	037025	Iredell	037097	Sampson	037163
    Carroll	051035	Johnston	037101	Scotland	037165
    Caswell	037033	Lee	037105	Stanly	037167
    Chatham	037037	Lenoir	037107	Stokes	037169
    Chesterfield	045025	Marlboro	045069	Surry	037171
    Cumberland	037051	Martin	037117	Union	037179
    Danville	051590	Mecklenburg	051117	Vance	037181
    Davidson	037057	Martinsville	051690	Wake	037183
    Davie	037059	Montgomery	037123	Warren	037185
    Durham	037063	Moore	037125	Wayne	037191
    Edgecombe	037065	Nash	037127	Wilkes	037193
    Forsyth	037067	Northampton	037131	Wilson	037195
    Franklin	037069	Orange	037135	Yadkin	037197
    Galax	051640	Patrick	051141
    Granville	037077	Person	037145

  • Tests of the warning alarm are conducted each Wednesday, between 11am and noon, unless severe weather is threatening.
  • NOAA Weather Radio receivers can be purchased at local radio and TV stores, at specialty electronics shops, at stores specializing in boat and marine products, and online. There are three general categories, and many AM/FM/VHF/scanner combinations are on the market.
    
    The least expensive radios are simple receivers for the VHF weather band. Next up are the radios that include an alarm feature: designated products, such as Tornado, Severe Thunderstorm, and Flash Flood watches and warnings, contain special signals that activate an alarm on the radio whenever any county in the radio's service area is affected. At the upper end of the scale are the SAME- (Specific Area Message Encoder) equipped radios. These units can be customized to sound alarms only for counties of your choosing. A few units can be customized by product.
  • For information on weather radio receiver recalls, go to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPS) web site and choose "Radios (Weather)" in the product Type list.
  • Report NOAA Weather Radio transmitter outages (dead air) or failure to receive the weekly test (every Wednesday between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon) local time to the NWR Transmitter Outage Reporting Page at ... http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/outages/report.php