Update on Birmingham Weather Radio

The National Weather Service has been working diligently to repair serious equipment with the Birmingham NOAA Weather Radio broadcasting from Red Mountain overlooking downtown Birmingham. Through some extraordinary measures, they have been able to get the broadcast back on the air on a limited basis. I’ve posted their statement below for all the information.

-Brian-

NOUS44 KBMX 241619 AAA
PNSBMX
ALZ011>015-017>050-260415-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1119 AM CDT THU APR 24 2014

...BIRMINGHAM NOAA WEATHER RADIO IS BROADCASTING ON A LIMITED BASIS...

THE BIRMINGHAM NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER...BROADCASTING ON A
FREQUENCY OF 162.550 MHZ...IS NOW WORKING ON A LIMITED BASIS.

A TEMPORARY ANTENNA HAS BEEN INSTALLED. HOWEVER...THE TEMPORARY
ANTENNA IS CLOSER TO THE GROUND AND OPERATING AT LOWER POWER. THIS
MEANS THAT AREAL COVERAGE AND QUALITY OF RECEPTION...INCLUDING
TONE ALERTS...WILL LIKELY BE REDUCED. A PERMANENT FIX MAY NOT
OCCUR UNTIL ON OR ABOUT MAY 3RD.

IN THE MEANTIME...NWS BIRMINGHAM WILL CONDUCT TONE ALERT TESTS FOR
THE BIRMINGHAM NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER AT 6 PM CDT
THURSDAY APRIL 24TH...11 AM AND 6 PM CDT ON FRIDAY APRIL 25TH AND
SATURDAY APRIL 26TH. IN ADDITION...WE WILL CONDUCT THE REGULARLY
SCHEDULED WEEKLY TEST FOR ALL OTHER CENTRAL ALABAMA NOAA WEATHER
RADIO TRANSMITTERS AT 11 AM SATURDAY APRIL 26TH.

THESE TEST MESSAGES WILL ALLOW THOSE THAT DEPEND ON THE BIRMINGHAM
TRANSMITTER SITE TO DETERMINE IF YOUR WEATHER RADIO WILL RECEIVE
AND ALARM FOR ACTUAL WARNING MESSAGES. IF YOU RECEIVE THE TEST
MESSAGES...YOUR RADIO SHOULD ACTIVATE AND ALARM FOR ACTUAL WARNING
TONE ALERTS. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE TEST MESSAGES...WE
RECOMMEND YOU USE A BACKUP NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER.

BACKUP NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTERS ARE:

TUSCALOOSA...BROADCASTING ON A FREQUENCY OF 162.400 MHZ...
ONEONTA...BROADCASTING ON A FREQUENCY OF 162.425 MHZ...
ANNISTON...BROADCASTING ON A FREQUENCY OF 162.475 MHZ...AND
CULLMAN...BROADCASTING ON A FREQUENCY OF 162.450 MHZ.

FOR DETAILED INFORMATION ON BACKUP TRANSMITTERS FOR YOUR
COUNTY...PLEASE GO TO OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/BMX

KEEP IN MIND THAT NOT ALL BACKUP TRANSMITTERS WILL TONE FOR YOUR
SPECIFIC COUNTY...SO PLEASE STAY WEATHER AWARE DURING THE OUTAGE.

FINALLY...CERTAIN WEATHER RADIOS WILL BEGIN TO BEEP CONSTANTLY IF A
WEEKLY TEST DOES NOT OCCUR AT LEAST EVERY 10 DAYS.  THE LAST WEEKLY
TEST OCCURRED ON APRIL 19TH.  THIS MEANS THAT IF THE TRANSMITTER IS
NOT OPERATIONAL BY APRIL 29-30...CERTAIN WEATHER RADIOS WILL BEEP
CONSTANTLY UNTIL A WEEKLY TEST CAN BE CONDUCTED.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS
OUTAGE MAY CAUSE.

$$

Category: Alabama's Weather