The Value of a Weather Radio

June 19, 2009
J. McLellan 608 / 267-2542
Emergency Management

The Value of a Wx Radio
Reference #061909-#01


Immediate Warning Information Delivered to Households

Severe storms swept through Dane County last night. These storms included five (5) Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, one (1) Flash Flood warning, one (1) severe thunderstorm watch, and one (1) tornado watch between the approximate hours of 9:00pm and 1:00am, well past the time many people go to sleep. These notifications were delivered directly, without any delay, to many Dane County residents through their NOAA Weather Radios.

NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards are a key component of the Dane County Warning System. These radios can provide warning information specific for Dane County that includes a verbal description of the specific hazard(s) posed, what dangers the hazard poses, and cautionary measures that people can take to improve their level of safety. A NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards is an individual’s access point to a comprehensive network of weather and emergency information.

Dane County is making programmable versions of these radios available at cost through local municipalities to anyone wishing to purchase one (visit http://www.countyofdane.com/emergency/weather_radio.aspx for information about the program and a listing of locations). Because these radios are programmable, the user can set them up to alert for only the event types and locations they are concerned about. Older weather alert radios did not have this feature. These radios are similar to smoke detectors, silently monitoring, and then providing rapid warning, direct from the source, when hazardous weather conditions or other hazards pose a threat to life and property.

For more information about the radios, broadcast information, and the network itself, visit the National Weather Service’s NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazard web page – http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/?n=nwr . For more information about Dane County’s Warning System, visit http://www.countyofdane.com/emergency/warning.aspx .



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