A weather radio is a “smoke detector for severe weather and hazardous conditions.” Every family and business needs one.

  • A NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards with an alarm and battery back-up is one of the best ways to protect your family
  • The alarm feature can wake you up during severe weather and give you and your family time to seek appropriate shelter
  • A NOAA Weather Radio is a 24-hour source of weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and non-weather emergency information provided by the National Weather Service
  • If there is no severe weather then your weather radio can be switched to a silent, stand-by mode

How to purchase a weather radio

  • You can buy your radio at most electronic stores
  • Weather radios come in many sizes, with a variety of functions and costs
  • Most weather radio receivers are either battery-operated portables or AC-powered desktop models with battery backup
  • The portable weather radios are an important item to take along when you’re enjoying the outdoors such as camping and boating
  • Look for Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology that allows you to program your radio to alarm only for hazardous conditions that affect your county

Special Needs Radios

  • Your weather radio can be adapted to meet special needs such as those of the hearing impaired
  • Flashing light
  • Bed shaker
  • Siren
  • Click here to learn more about the NOAA Weather Radio for the deaf or hearing impaired

radio programming

The following charts provides information on how to program your weather radio

additional resources

National Weather Service weather radio information:

https://www.weather.gov/mkx/nwr-table

Wisconsin Educational Communications Board:

https://ecb.org/resources/