NWS La Crosse, WI

NON-WEATHER MESSAGES ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO

The National Weather Service is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to broadcast critical all-hazards messages via NOAA Weather Radio. Such messages can include warnings of terrorist strikes, nuclear accidents, toxic chemical spills, and 911 outages. This will make the radio network into an "All-Hazards" network. However, weather messages will continue to be the main emphasis on a day-to-day basis.

Upon request by:

Department of Homeland Security (DHS), or
Iowa Emergency Management Division, or
Minnesota Division of Emergency Management, or
Wisconsin Division of Emergency Management, or
Any county / local officials,

messages will be relayed by NWS personnel over NOAA All-Hazards Radio. These messages will contain alerting features that can activate alarm-capable radio receivers, as well as deliver the message over the Emergency Alert System (EAS) for use by commercial media. With over 900 transmitters nationwide, over 97% of the U.S. population will have access to such alerts.

New EAS codes are being implemented to assist with distribution of these messages. If you have a programmable NOAA Weather Radio receiver (which uses EAS codes to determine the message type), this may have an impact on the operation of your receiver. If it is an older model, it may display "unknown warning" or "unknown statement" when these codes are received, but may still sound an audio alarm. Newer programmable radios will likely have these codes in place, as manufacturers prepared for the new codes last year, or likely have the capability of manually inserting the new codes. Non-programmable radio receivers, which use a 1050 Hz tone for alarm activation, will not need to do anything to receive the new messages, but be advised the alarm tone is used for any warning in the coverage area of your local transmitter.

For information on NOAA Weather Radio receivers, click here.

The following new EAS codes will be available through the La Crosse NWS weather radio stations. No changes to individual county codes will take place.

EAS Event Code	1050 Hz Alarm Tone Used?	Definition
ADR	No	Administrative Message
CAE	Yes	Child Abduction Emergency (AMBER Alert) Iowa Only!
CDW	Yes	Civil Danger Warning
CEM	Yes	Civil Emergency Message
EQW	Yes	Earthquake Warning
EVI	Yes	Evacuation Immediate
FRW	Yes	Fire Warning
HMW	Yes	Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Warning
LAE	No	Local Area Emergency
LEW	Yes	Law Enforcement Warning
NUW	Yes	Nuclear Power Plant Warning
RHW	Yes	Radiological Hazard Warning
SPW	Yes	Shelter in Place Warning
TOE	No	911 Telephone Outage Emergency

Updated 7/15/04 - tjs - Template from NWS Lincoln (ILX)

NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office