000 NOUS44 KLZK 212003 PNSLZK ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-220400- PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 200 PM CST TUE FEB 21 2012 ...TODAYS TOPIC FOR SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IS METHODS OF RECEIVING SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION... ARKANSAS GOVERNOR MIKE BEEBE HAS PROCLAIMED THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 20TH THROUGH 24TH AS SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN ARKANSAS. A DIFFERENT TOPIC WILL BE DISCUSSED EACH DAY...AND TODAYS TOPIC IS METHODS OF RECEIVING SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION. ASK PEOPLE WHERE THEY GET THEIR WEATHER INFORMATION WHEN SEVERE WEATHER IS OCCURRING...AND THEY WILL MOST LIKELY ANSWER WITH THE NAME OF THEIR FAVORITE TELEVISION OR RADIO STATION...OR PERHAPS A CABLE NETWORK. BUT...IF PEOPLE ARE NOT AT HOME OR DO NOT HAVE THE TV OR RADIO TURNED ON...THEY PROBABLY WILL NOT GET THE WORD. PRIOR TO THE SUPER TUESDAY TORNADO OUTBREAK ON FEBRUARY 5 2008... SIX OF THE PREVIOUS SEVEN TORNADO FATALITIES IN ARKANSAS HAD OCCURRED WHEN PEOPLE WERE ASLEEP. THERE WERE TORNADO WARNINGS IN EFFECT FOR EACH OF THESE TORNADOES...BUT THE PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES WERE UNAWARE OF THE WARNINGS. NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS...THE VOICE OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...BROADCASTS WEATHER INFORMATION 24 HOURS A DAY DIRECTLY FROM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES. THIS VALUABLE SERVICE HAS EXISTED FOR MANY YEARS IN ARKANSAS...YET MANY PEOPLE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF IT. A SPECIAL ALERTING FEATURE ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO RECEIVERS ALLOWS THE RADIOS TO TURN THEMSELVES ON OR SOUND A TONE WHEN A WATCH OR WARNING IS ISSUED FOR THE LISTENERS AREA. THUS...EVEN IF THE PERSON IS ASLEEP OR OTHERWISE OCCUPIED AND NOT KEEPING UP WITH THE WEATHER...THAT PERSON WILL BE ALERTED IMMEDIATELY TO DANGEROUS WEATHER CONDITIONS. MANY RECENT MODELS OF WEATHER RADIOS ARE EQUIPPED WITH A FEATURE CALLED SAME...WHICH STANDS FOR SPECIFIC AREA MESSAGE ENCODING. THIS FEATURE ALLOWS THE OWNER OF THE RADIO TO SELECT ONLY THOSE COUNTIES FOR WHICH HE OR SHE WANTS TO RECEIVE ALERTS. MOST PEOPLE...FOR EXAMPLE...WOULD SET THE RADIO TO SOUND ALERTS FOR THE COUNTY THEY LIVE IN AND ONE OR TWO OTHER COUNTIES TO THE SOUTHWEST OR WEST...SINCE STORMS MOST OFTEN MOVE IN FROM THOSE DIRECTIONS. FOLLOWING THE DEVASTATING TORNADO OUTBREAK OF JANUARY 21ST 1999... THE ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DID AN INFORMAL SURVEY OF PEOPLE THEY AIDED AFTER THE DISASTER. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TORNADO WARNINGS FOR THIS OUTBREAK WERE EXCELLENT...AND MOST OF THE SEVERE WEATHER OCCURRED BETWEEN 300 PM AND 1100 PM... THE TIMES OF DAY WHEN PEOPLE ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE LISTENING TO TV OR RADIO. EVEN SO...ABOUT HALF OF THE PEOPLE INTERVIEWED SAID THEY FIRST LEARNED ABOUT THE SEVERE WEATHER WHEN THEY HEARD A ROAR COMING TOWARD THEM OR SOMEONE THEY KNEW CALLED THEM ON THE TELEPHONE. THE SITUATION WAS MUCH THE SAME FOLLOWING THE TORNADO OUTBREAKS IN 2008...2009...AND 2011. DURING STORM SURVEYS...EMPLOYEES OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INTERVIEWED MANY PEOPLE. AN AMAZING NUMBER OF THESE PEOPLE SAID THAT THEY FIRST KNEW OF THE TORNADO THREAT WHEN A FAMILY MEMBER OR FRIEND CALLED THEM ON THE TELEPHONE. NOAA WEATHER RADIO RECEIVERS COULD HAVE ALERTED ALL OF THESE PEOPLE AND GIVEN THEM MORE WARNING. SEVERE WEATHER WARNINGS HAVE IMPROVED GREATLY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS...FOLLOWING THE INTRODUCTION OF DOPPLER WEATHER RADARS. BUT...EVEN THE BEST WARNINGS WILL NOT BE EFFECTIVE IF PEOPLE DO NOT HEAR THE WARNINGS AND REACT TO THEM. IN ARKANSAS...NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS CAN ALERT PEOPLE TO DANGERS NO MATTER WHAT THE TIME OF DAY. MOST WEATHER RADIOS COME WITH BATTERY BACKUP...SO THAT THEIR ALERTING CAPABILITIES ARE NOT AFFECTED BY POWER OUTAGES. THERE ARE CURRENTLY 25 NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTERS SERVING ARKANSAS. THESE TRANSMITTERS AND THEIR FREQUENCIES ARE... GROVE OK 162.50 MEGAHERTZ SPRINGDALE 162.40 FAYETTEVILLE 162.475 HARRISON 162.525 YELLVILLE 162.50 WARDELL MO 162.525 MOUNTAIN VIEW 162.45 CHEROKEE VILLAGE 162.475 JONESBORO 162.55 DYERSBURG TN 162.50 FORT SMITH 162.55 RUSSELLVILLE 162.525 MORRILTON 162.475 LITTLE ROCK 162.55 RUSSELL 162.40 MARVELL 162.525 MEMPHIS TN 162.475 MENA 162.40 HIGH PEAK 162.425 GURDON 162.475 STAR CITY 162.40 BROKEN BOW OK 162.45 TEXARKANA 162.55 EL DORADO 162.525 FOUNTAIN HILL 162.475 NOAA WEATHER RADIOS CAN BE PURCHASED AT STORES THAT SELL RADIO EQUIPMENT...AS WELL AS AT DISCOUNT STORES AND DEPARTMENT STORES. OTHER SOURCES OF NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WARNINGS ARE COMMERCIAL RADIO AND TELEVISION STATIONS...AND CABLE AND SATELLITE TV. MANY BROADCAST OUTLETS MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...AND SOME OF THEM...ESPECIALLY AUTOMATED RADIO STATIONS... BROADCAST WARNINGS DIRECTLY FROM NOAA WEATHER RADIO TO THEIR LISTENERS. OTHER SOURCES OF WARNINGS INCLUDE TELEPHONE NOTIFICATION SERVICES TO WHICH PEOPLE SUBSCRIBE...PAGERS... CELL PHONES...AND PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANTS. && A TABLE SHOWING NOAA WEATHER RADIO COVERAGE FOR EACH COUNTY IN ARKANSAS IS AVAILABLE AT... HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/NWR/CNTYCOV/NWRAR.HTM FOR PROGRAMMING COUNTY CODES INTO A NOAA WEATHER RADIO RECEIVER REFER TO A MAP AT... HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/LZK/?N=NOAAWX1.HTM FOR A LIST OF ALL THE TORNADOES AND OTHER SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENTS THAT OCCURRED IN 2011... HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/IMAGES/LZK/PDF/STORMSOF2011.PDF $$ 28