Trying to understand the wide array of warnings, watches, advisories, and emergencies can be confusing. NOAA weather radios not only broadcast the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast, but also the Emergency Alert System (EAS). These radios will alert you to severe weather, natural disasters, AMBER alerts, terrorist attacks, and technological accidents (i.e., chemical releases, oil spills, nuclear power plant emergencies).
All alerts are important and should be taken seriously, but not all alerts require immediate action. Let's break them down!
Watch - Be Prepared!
A Watch is used when hazardous weather is possible and conditions are prime for sever weather to develop. This potential event (should it come to pass) poses a significant threat to the public, but he exact details of the time, location, and probability of occurrence are uncertain. Even though immediate action is not necessary when a Watch is issued, it is important to be prepared because they can evolve into a Warning. Typically, Watches are issues many hours before the weather event even begins. For example, in the morning you may be notified that a Winter Weather Storm Watch is issued for later in the afternoon or evening.
This alert may not require immediate action but should be your first indicator to be prepared. Watch alerts are typically issued up to 8 hours in advance of hazardous weather and can cover a large geographic region.
Warning - Take Action!
A Warning alert is more urgent than a Watch alert. This is an event that poses a significant threat to public safety and property and requires immediate action. Warnings are used for events that are either already occurring or imminent. This type of alert signals you to take immediate protective measures. Depending on the type of emergency, you may only have minutes to react and seek shelter.
A Warning covers smaller geographic areas than a Watch alert. All Warning alerts should be considered urgent - even if you cannot see the danger, seek immediate shelter.
Advisory - Stay Aware
Advisories are virtually Warnings for less severe weather events. These events are typically a public inconvenience and can cause travel hazards. For example, you may be alerted to a Freezing Rai Advisory instead of an Ice Storm Warning the hazard of ice and freezing rain are present but not severe enough to be considered an ice storm. Similar to Watch alerts, Advisories can change into a Warning.
Emergency Alerts & Statements - Be Informed
Emergency Alerts arise from events that, by themselves, do not pose a threat of injury, death, or property damage. Instead, these are events that can indirectly cause other hazards. For example, a major power outage does not necessarily pose a threat but can lead to conditions that directly threaten public safety.
Statements are simply a follow-up message with information regarding the previously broadcasted warning, watch, or emergency.
Programmable Alerts
Our weather radios are enabled with over 60 to 80 selectable emergency alerts. You have the freedom to choose which alerts you receive - for the most part.
Below we have provided the lists of selectable alerts for two of our most popular NOAA weather radios. The items with an asterisk have a default setting and cannot be disabled per NOAA regulations.
- Complete list of the WR120 radio selectable alerts
- Complete list of the WR400 radio selectable alerts
For more information on how to program your radio, you will find links to the specific radios on this page.
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