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NOAA Weather Radio FAQs

Customer Experience
Updated

Everything you need to know about setup, signal issues, alerts, and features of your Midland weather radio.

Basics & Functionality

What is NOAA Weather Radio?

NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) is a nationwide network of stations broadcasting continuous weather updates from the National Weather Service. It includes warnings, watches, forecasts, and hazard info—24/7.

Why do I need a NOAA Weather Radio?

  • It offers instant, official alerts (unlike phone apps that can lag).

  • Functions like an indoor tornado siren—can wake you at night.

  • Delivers alerts for tornadoes, hurricanes, AMBER alerts, civil emergencies, and more.

  • Only weather radios can receive NOAA broadcasts—standard AM/FM radios cannot.

  • Portable models (e.g. Midland ER50) are ideal for travel and outdoor use.

  • Essential redundancy: cell towers can fail, weather radios keep working.

Programming & Setup

How do I program my weather radio?

Programming help is available for:

What are S.A.M.E. codes and how do I find the right one for my county?

S.A.M.E. = Specific Area Messaging Encoding
This system limits alerts to only your geographic area.

Find your county's code on the NWS S.A.M.E. listing. If you're tuned to a station that doesn’t carry alerts for your area, your radio won’t activate, even if the broadcast is audible.

Alerts & Troubleshooting

Why are the LED lights flashing or my WR120 beeping randomly?

  • Most likely, your radio hasn’t received a Required Weekly Test (RWT) in over 10 days.

  • Use SET CHANNEL to ensure you're monitoring a strong, local NOAA frequency.

Why am I not receiving the weekly test?

  • Radios default to silent test mode: only the “Advisory” light and a message appear.

  • To enable an audible alert:
    Menu → Set Events → All On
    OR
    Menu → Set Event → Edit Events → Required Weekly Test → On → Save

We've had severe weather, but I didn't get any alerts. Why?

Check the following:

  • ON/OFF switch is ON

  • Press WEATHER/SNOOZE—do you hear a broadcast?

  • SET CHANNEL matches your county’s NOAA frequency

  • SET LOCATION is correct

  • The transmitter is working in your area

  • Alerts only sound if your specific county is in a warning

  • Set Events should be All Default or All On. If SET EVENTS is ALL OFF, the radio will still receive Tornado Warnings (as per NOAA regulations), but it would not sound for Severe Thunderstorm, Flash Flood and other warnings. You can find a full list of default alerts here.

  • Make sure the NOAA is solid and not flashing near the top of the display

County & Location Settings

How do I delete a county on my WR120?

To remove a specific county:

  1. MENU → SET LOCATION → MULTIPLE → SELECT

  2. Scroll to the county to delete

  3. Right arrow → Down arrow (hash marks appear)

  4. SELECT → MENU twice to save

To revert to a single-county setup:

  1. MENU → SET LOCATION → SINGLE → SELECT

  2. MENU twice to save

Reset & Power

How can I reset my WR120?

  1. Unplug from wall

  2. Check or replace batteries

  3. Remove 1 battery

  4. While reinserting, hold WEATHER/SNOOZE

  5. Display will show “RESET” → reprogram radio from scratch

Will my radio work in a power outage?

Yes—if AA batteries are installed, your weather radio will continue operating when AC power is lost.

How do I delete a county on my WR120?

By setting the radio for a single location, you are telling the radio to alert only for location #1 and to ignore all other locations. Location #1, the first county you program into your radio, should always be the county in which your home is located. Follow the below instructions if you have programmed in multiple counties and want to revert to only your home county.

  • Press MENU
  • Press up or down arrow buttons until display shows SET LOCATION
  • Press SELECT
  • Display should say MULTIPLE
  • Press SELECT
  • Press up or down arrow until you arrive at the county you want to eliminate
  • Press the right arrow
  • Press the down arrow
  • Hash marks will appear, indicating the county has been deleted
  • Press SELECT
  • Press MENU twice to save changes

If you originally programmed multiple counties in your radio but no longer want to hear those warnings, you can eliminate all counties except the single county you live in.

  • Press MENU
  • Press up or down arrow button until display shows SET LOCATION
  • Press SELECT
  • Press up or down arrow button until display shows SINGLE
  • Press SELECT
  • Press MENU twice to save changes

Static, Interference & Portables

What if I get static from the power cord?

Try:

  • Plugging into a different outlet

  • Moving away from other electronics (like routers)

  • Using a ferrite core noise suppressor

Will there be portable emergency radios with S.A.M.E. technology?

Currently, Midland doesn’t offer portable models with S.A.M.E.
However, emergency portables like the ER series tune to the local NOAA signal wherever you go—no programming needed.

Battery Life

What is the battery-only runtime on the WR120?

Battery Type Standby Mode Constant Weather Broadcast (Full Volume)
Basic Alkaline ~2 days ~12 hours
High-Quality AA ~3 days ~15.5 hours

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