A Weather Radio is an important warning device you should have in your home or business. Weather radios come in many sizes and with a variety of functions and costs. Many of the radios sound a tone alarm and/or turn on the audio when severe weather announcements or emergency information are broadcast. To make use of the new digital coding technology, more sophisticated weather radio receivers are now available. New radios are available which feature NOAA Weather Radio Specific Area Message Encoding, or NWR-SAME, technology. These radios can be programmed to alert only for a specific area.
During an emergency, National Weather Service forecasters will interrupt routine weather radio programming and send out a special tone that activates weather radios in the listening area. The hearing and visually impaired also can get these warnings by connecting weather radios with alarm tones to other kinds of attention-getting devices like strobe lights, pagers, bed-shakers, personal computers and text printers. Public safety experts agree: the receivers should be standard equipment in every home. They are especially valuable in places that are entrusted with public safety, including hospitals, schools, places of worship, nursing homes, restaurants, grocery stores, recreation centers, office buildings, sports facilities, theaters, retail stores, bus and train stations, airports, marinas and other public-gathering places.
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