NWS Begins Delivering Wireless Weather Alerts

Starting today, the National Weather Service (NWS) began transmitting nationwide warning of certain weather condition to smartphones in the affected geographic areas. The alerts are being sent via the new Wireless Emergency Alerts network that connects government agencies, including the President of the United States, to cellular carriers and their subscribers. The alert system is designated as “opt-out,” meaning that every cellular phone will receive appropriate message unless they specifically choose not to receive the alerts. There is no subscriber cost to receive the messages. According to the NWS, the alerts will be sent only for conditions the agency now describes as a “warning,” which includes the most imminent types of approaching weather, including tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, ice and dust storms, flash flooding or blizzards. The alerts will be sent only to subscribers who are currently active to a cellular antenna tower in the affected warning area, usually one or more counties. As other mobile handsets enter the affected area, they will also receive the alerts. A typical alert would state, “Tornado Warning in his area til 18:30 tzT. Take shelter now. — NWS” The text message is accompanied by an audible alert and the handset vibrates. Not all handsets area compatible with the new alerting system, including the iPhone. The CTIA, a national cellular group, has more information about the status of how cellular carriers are transmitting alerts.