NOAA
Weather Radio is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous
weather information directly from the nearest National Weather Service office.
NWR broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other
hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Working
with the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) Emergency Alert System, NWR
is an "All Hazards" radio network, making it your single source for
comprehensive weather and emergency information. In conjunction with Federal,
State, and Local Emergency Managers and other public officials, NWR also
broadcasts warning and post-event information for all types of hazards –
including natural (such as earthquakes or avalanches), environmental (such as
chemical releases or oil spills), and public safety (such as AMBER alerts or
911 Telephone outages).
Known
as the "Voice of NOAA's National Weather Service," NWR is provided as
a public service by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
part of the Department of Commerce. NWR includes more than 1000 transmitters,
covering all 50 states, adjacent coastal waters, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, and the U.S. Pacific Territories. NWR requires a special radio
receiver or scanner capable of picking up the signal. Broadcasts are found in
the VHF public service band at these frequencies (MHz):
*
Some weather radios also contain a tenth channel, 163.275 MHz, which was used
by the National Weather Service for internal coordination; however this
frequency is no longer used.
In Thurston County, WA (and in other
nearby counties), NWR weather broadcasts are provided by NWR Transmitter WXM622
located on Capitol Peak.
Some NWR receivers contain Specific Area
Message Encoding (SAME). To receive SAME
Alerts, you must program your county, parish, independent city or marine area
into the radio.
Once programmed, your NWR will then alert
you only of weather and other emergencies for the county(s)/ area(s) you chose.
NWR receivers with SAME, alert for emergencies anywhere within the coverage
area of the NWR transmitter, typically several counties, even though the
emergency could be well away from the listener.
When an NWS office broadcasts a warning,
watch or non-weather emergency, it also broadcasts a digital SAME code. This
SAME code contains the type of message, county(s) affected, and message
expiration time. A programmed NWR SAME receiver will turn on for that message,
with the listener hearing the 1050 Hz warning alarm tone as an attention
signal, followed by the broadcast message. At the end of the broadcast message,
listeners will hear a brief digital end-of-message static burst followed by a
resumption of the NWR broadcast cycle.
To program NWR SAME receivers with the
proper county(s) and marine area(s) of choice, you need to know the 6-digit
SAME code number. Then follow the directions in your radio's user's manual.
SAME codes for WA counties are included in the following table.
County
|
SAME #
|
NWR Transmitter
|
Call Sign
|
Frequency
|
Adams
|
53001
|
Richland
|
|
162.45
|
Asotin
|
53003
|
Lewiston
|
|
162.55
|
Benton
|
53005
|
Richland
|
|
162.45
|
Chelan
|
53007
|
Okanogan
|
|
162.525
|
Chelan
|
53007
|
Wenatchee
|
|
162.475
|
Clallam
|
53009
|
Forks
|
|
162.425
|
Clallam
|
53009
|
Neah Bay
|
|
162.55
|
Clallam
|
53009
|
Puget Sound Marine
|
|
162.425
|
Clark
|
53011
|
Davis Peak
|
|
162.525
|
Clark
|
53011
|
Portland
|
|
162.55
|
Columbia
|
53013
|
Dayton
|
|
162.525
|
Cowlitz
|
53015
|
Davis Peak
|
|
162.525
|
Cowlitz
|
53015
|
Portland
|
|
162.55
|
Douglas
|
53017
|
Okanogan
|
|
162.525
|
Douglas
|
53017
|
Wenatchee
|
|
162.475
|
Ferry
|
53019
|
Okanogan
|
|
162.525
|
Franklin
|
53021
|
Richland
|
|
162.45
|
Garfield
|
53023
|
Dayton
|
|
162.525
|
Garfield
|
53023
|
Lewiston
|
|
162.55
|
Grant
|
53025
|
Okanogan
|
|
162.525
|
Grant
|
53025
|
Richland
|
|
162.45
|
Grant
|
53025
|
Wenatchee
|
|
162.475
|
Grays Harbor
|
53027
|
Astoria
|
|
162.4
|
Grays Harbor
|
53027
|
Capitol Peak
|
|
162.475
|
Grays Harbor
|
53027
|
Forks
|
|
162.425
|
Island
|
53029
|
Puget Sound Marine
|
|
162.425
|
Jefferson
|
53031
|
Forks
|
|
162.425
|
Jefferson
|
53031
|
Neah Bay
|
|
162.55
|
Jefferson
|
53031
|
Puget Sound Marine
|
|
162.425
|
King
|
53033
|
Seattle
|
|
162.55
|
Kitsap
|
53035
|
Puget Sound Marine
|
|
162.425
|
Kitsap
|
53035
|
Seattle
|
|
162.55
|
Kittitas
|
53037
|
Cle Elum
|
|
162.4
|
Kittitas
|
53037
|
Wenatchee
|
|
162.475
|
Kittitas
|
53037
|
Yakima
|
|
162.55
|
Klickitat
|
53039
|
Richland
|
|
162.45
|
Klickitat
|
53039
|
The Dalles
|
|
162.4
|
Lewis
|
53041
|
Capitol Peak
|
|
162.475
|
Lewis
|
53041
|
Randle
|
|
162.425
|
Lincoln
|
53043
|
Okanogan
|
|
162.525
|
Lincoln
|
53043
|
Spokane
|
|
162.4
|
Mason
|
53045
|
Capitol Peak
|
|
162.475
|
Mason
|
53045
|
Seattle
|
|
162.55
|
Okanogan
|
53047
|
Okanogan
|
|
162.525
|
Pacific
|
53049
|
Astoria
|
|
162.4
|
Pacific
|
53049
|
Capitol Peak
|
|
162.475
|
Pend Oreille
|
53051
|
Spokane
|
|
162.4
|
Pierce
|
53053
|
Capitol Peak
|
|
162.475
|
Pierce
|
53053
|
Seattle
|
|
162.55
|
San Juan
|
53055
|
H Street - Blaine Area
|
|
162.525
|
San Juan
|
53055
|
Puget Sound Marine
|
|
162.425
|
Skagit
|
53057
|
Puget Sound Marine
|
|
162.425
|
Skamania
|
53059
|
Portland
|
|
162.55
|
Skamania
|
53059
|
The Dalles
|
|
162.4
|
Snohomish
|
53061
|
Puget Sound Marine
|
|
162.425
|
Snohomish
|
53061
|
Seattle
|
|
162.55
|
Spokane
|
53063
|
Bonners Ferry
|
|
162.5
|
Spokane
|
53063
|
Spokane
|
|
162.4
|
Stevens
|
53065
|
Spokane
|
|
162.4
|
Thurston
|
53067
|
Capitol Peak
|
|
162.475
|
Wahkiakum
|
53069
|
Astoria
|
|
162.4
|
Walla Walla
|
53071
|
Richland
|
|
162.45
|
Walla Walla
|
53071
|
Spout Springs
|
|
162.4
|
Whatcom
|
53073
|
H Street - Blaine Area
|
|
162.525
|
Whitman
|
53075
|
Dayton
|
|
162.525
|
Whitman
|
53075
|
Lewiston
|
|
162.55
|
Yakima
|
53077
|
Richland
|
|
162.45
|
Yakima
|
53077
|
Yakima
|
|
162.55
|
|
|
|
|
|