National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

 

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



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NOAA Weather Radio Stations Serving Central NC

 

WWF 60 Buck Mountain 162.500 mhz Map
WXL 58 Chapel Hill 162.550 mhz Map
WNG 597 Ellerbe 162.400 mhz Map
WXL 50 St. Pauls 162.475 mhz Map
WNG 706 Garner 162.450 mhz Map
WNG 586 Henderson 162.500 mhz Map
WXL 59 Tarboro 162.475 mhz Map
WXL 42 Winston-Salem 162.400 mhz Map

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

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       Hourly  Weather  Roundup

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       Near Term Forecast

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       Extended  Forecast

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       Daily Climate  Summary

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    • 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.



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    • 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.
    • 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


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