NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio

NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from your local National Weather Service Office. NWR broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  

NOAA Weather Radio utilizes seven frequencies in the VHF band between 162.400 and 162.550 megahertz (MHz) to broadcast on over 900 transmitters nationwide. These frequencies are outside the normal AM or FM broadcast range therefore requiring a special receiver or weather radio. The transmitter listening area is usually within 50 miles of a transmitter but can vary depending on surrounding terrain and atmospheric conditions. 

Regular broadcast programming includes local forecasts, climate data, hourly weather conditions, extended forecasts and more. These products are updated throughout the day as needed. Broadcast cycles are generally 4 to 7 minutes long but are shortened during severe weather to provide the listener with active weather watches or warnings. Besides weather hazards, other civil emergency messages such as AMBER alerts or chemical releases are also broadcast. 

While the National Weather Service employees prepare the radio broadcasts, the office does not manufacture or sell receivers. However, most retail outlets including electronics, department, and sporting goods stores as well as many online retailers sell the receivers. Prices can vary from $20 to $200, depending on the model and features. The National Weather Service cannot recommend one brand of receiver over another, but we do suggest that you look for receivers which carry the Public Alert logo. These devices meet certain technical standards and come with the following features: tone alarm, Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology, selectable events for alert, battery backup, and an external antenna jack.

Below table shows the 7 transmitters the Aberdeen Weather Forecast Office is responsible for along with the Wessington Springs transmitter, which broadcasts forecast information in our area, but is maintained by the National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls. You may zoom in and out of the map to find which receiver covers your area. To find more information about the transmitter such as operating frequency and actual coverage simply mouse over the icon or check out the table below the map.