Early Warning of Severe Weather NOAA All-Hazards Radio

Following a successful pilot project last summer, the County will make weather radios available at a low cost to residents countywide this spring. Dane County made a bulk purchase of almost 7,000 NOAA All-Hazards Radios and is working through local municipalities to re-sell them, at cost to anyone wishing to purchase one.

The radio being distributed is the Reecom model R-1630 and will include 4-AA batteries. The batteries provide pack-up power in the event of a power outage. The cost is $21.50 per radio plus $1.18 sales tax for a total cost of $22.68. This is a significant price break, as the usual price for this radio is about $60.00. See http://www.reecominc.com/index2.htm for more information about the features of the radio.

Where can you purchase a radio through this program?

NOAA Weather Radios are available through local electronics stores as well as from a large number of sources on the internet. To take advantage of the bulk pricing available from this County program, however, you can make you purchase directly from the participating local municipalities. Most, but not all of the local jurisdictions in Dane County have opted to participate in this program.

Second Orders Of Weather Radios Are In

Due to the popularity of the program, Dane County Emergency Management has secured an additional supply of radios and they are now available throughout the County. The City of Madison has also received an additional shipment and will have radios available through the Madison Fire Department. Watch this page for updates and additional information on local availability.

Here is a link to a map indicating the participating municipalities: PDF MAP

Here is an accompanying list of locations with general contact information for the participating municipalities: PDF LISTING. It is recommended that you contact your municipality to determine local availability and hours.

What is NOAA All-Hazards Radio?

A NOAA All-Hazards radio receives broadcasts exclusively from the National Weather Service. The radio can provide rapid warning, direct from the source, when hazardous weather conditions pose a threat to life and property. It is also an "all-hazards" warning system, used not only for immediate flood or tornado related events, but also hazardous materials releases or other localized hazards. The radio receivers behave like smoke detectors, silently monitoring, and then alerting people to the initial warning message immediately upon receipt, providing more time to respond to the event.

In addition, this radio is programmable, allowing the user to set it up to alert for only the event types and locations they are concerned about. Older type weather alert radios did not have this feature but with the programmable features of this radio, this is no longer an issue.

See http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/nwrrcvr.htm for more information on the NOAA Weather Radio system.

Why should you purchase a NOAA All-Hazards Radio?

We recommend that every household have an all-hazards radio. However, to help people decide, we are providing the following information and suggesting that people ask themselves these questions:

How do you receive severe weather and other public warnings now? Many people would say they receive these alerts from the outdoor sirens or from warnings broadcast on local television or radio. Are these sources always completely reliable?

Can you always hear the sirens when they are sounded? Indoors? At night, with the windows closed and the air conditioner on? Is the siren loud enough to wake you up when you are sleeping? Is your home within the effective range of a siren?

Likewise, local television and radio is a great way to receive up-to-date warning information, but it works only if your radio or TV is on and tuned to the right station. Again, what about at night when you are sleeping? Or when you happen to be watching a cable or satellite channel that does not carry the local warning information. In those cases, you are very likely to miss the warning.

A NOAA All-Hazards Radio, on the other hand, is designed to be an indoor warning device. It is always on and it will wake you up if you are sleeping.

Do you have a smoke detector? Of course - it alerts you when it detects smoke. An all-hazards radio will alert you to many other immediate, life-threatening hazards in your area, like tornados, floods, and other dangerous events. Without this device, you could miss a critical warning message from that could save your life and those in your family.

Links

http://www.countyofdane.com/ems/ for more information on Dane County’s Emergency Warning System