History of NOAA Weather Radio in Timeline

NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) is a 24/7 network of VHF FM stations broadcasting weather information directly from the National Weather Service. The routine programming includes forecasts, synopses, and climate summaries. During hazardous weather, broadcasts are shortened to include outlooks, short-term forecasts, and summaries. NWR also broadcasts non-weather emergencies like Amber Alerts and natural disaster information via the Emergency Alert System. The technology uses automated broadcasts, recycling segments and consistently updating information across all transmitters.

1960: Marine Weather Broadcasts Begin

In 1960, the U.S. Weather Bureau initiated an experiment broadcasting marine weather information in Chicago and New York City using two VHF radio stations.

1965: KID77 in Kansas City Added as Third VHF Radio Transmitter

By 1965, KID77 in Kansas City, home to the Severe Local Storms Center, was added as the third continuous VHF radio transmitter.

1965: Recommendation for a Nationwide Radio Network

In the wake of the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, a recommendation was made to establish a nationwide radio network to broadcast weather warnings.

1966: ESSA VHF Weather Radio Network Started

Starting in 1966, the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) initiated a nationwide program known as "ESSA VHF Weather Radio Network."

January 1967: KBA99 in Honolulu Operating

The fourth continuous VHF radio transmitter, KBA99 in Honolulu, was operating by January 1967.

September 1969: Expansion to Coastal Locations after Hurricane Camille

In September 1969, following recommendations after Hurricane Camille, the service expanded to coastal locations during the 1970s.

1969: KHB47 in New London Uses 163.275 MHz

In 1969, KHB47 in New London, Connecticut initially used 163.275 MHz.

1970: Expansion and Rebranding of Weather Radio

By early 1970, broadcasts expanded to 20 U.S. cities using "ESSA VHF Radio Weather" on 162.55 MHz and 163.275 MHz. Also, in 1970, the U.S. Weather Bureau became the National Weather Service (NWS) and operated 29 VHF-FM weather-radio transmitters under NOAA which replaced ESSA.

1970: Addition of 162.400 MHz Frequency

In 1970, 162.400 MHz was added as an additional weather frequency.

1970: KHB47 Switches to 162.400 MHz

In 1970, KHB47 in New London switched to 162.400 MHz to avoid overlapping with KWO35 in New York.

September 1972: Denver Becomes the 60th NWR Station

In September 1972, Denver became the 60th NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) station.

1972: WWG75 Switches to 162.400 MHz

By 1972, WWG75 transmitting from Mt. Haleakala on Maui switched to 162.400.

1974: NOAA Weather Radio Reaches 44% of US Population

By 1974, NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) covered about 44 percent of the U.S. population through 66 nationwide transmitters.

1975: Addition of 162.475 MHz Frequency

In 1975, 162.475 MHz was added as a weather frequency for the NWR.

December 1976: Roughly 100 Stations Transmitting on Three Channels

By December 1976, there were roughly 100 NOAA Weather Radio stations transmitting on three channels.

May 1978: NWR Reaches 200 Radio Stations

In May 1978, NOAA Weather Radio reached 200 radio stations with WXK49 in Memphis, Tennessee.

September 1979: NWR Reaches 300 Radio Stations

In September 1979, NOAA Weather Radio reached 300 stations with WXL45 in Columbia, Missouri.

1981: Introduction of Remaining Four Frequencies

By 1981, the remaining four frequencies (162.425, 162.450, 162.500 & 162.525 MHz) came into use, increasing the total number of available frequencies for NOAA Weather Radio.

1988: NWS Operates About 380 Stations

By 1988, the NWS operated about 380 stations covering approximately 90 percent of the nation's population.

1995: US Government Funding for SAME Technology Development

In 1995, the U.S. government provided the budget needed to develop the Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology across the entire radio network.

1997: SAME Alert Protocol Adopted by EAS

In 1997, NOAA's SAME alert protocol was later adopted and put into use by the Emergency Alert System (EAS).

1997: Nationwide Implementation of SAME and Expansion to "All Hazards"

In 1997, Nationwide implementation of SAME occurred when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the SAME standard as part of its new Emergency Alert System (EAS). NOAA Weather Radio's public alerting responsibilities expanded from hazardous weather-only events to "all hazards" being broadcast.

1997: Console Replacement System (CRS) Deployed

In 1997, the Console Replacement System (CRS) was deployed at NWS weather forecast offices to manage the increasing number of transmitters and to speed the delivery of warning messages. CRS introduced a computerized voice nicknamed "Paul", using a text-to-speech system based on the DECtalk technology.

May 1999: Over 500 Radio Stations in Operation

By May 1999, there were over 500 NOAA Weather Radio stations in operation.

2001: Over 800 Radio Stations in Operation

By the end of 2001, there were over 800 NOAA Weather Radio stations in operation.

2002: Introduction of "Craig", "Tom", and "Donna" Voices

In 2002, "Craig", "Tom", and "Donna" were introduced as computerized voices using the Speechify text-to-speech system from SpeechWorks due to dissatisfaction with the previous "Paul" voice.

2002: Introduction of Improved Voices "Craig" and "Donna"

In 2002, the National Weather Service contracted with Siemens Information and Communication and SpeechWorks to introduce improved, more natural voices. The Voice Improvement Plan (VIP) was implemented, involving one male voice ("Craig"), and one female voice ("Donna").

2003: Introduction of Improved Voice "Tom" and "Javier"

In 2003, additional upgrades improved "Donna" and introduced an improved male voice nicknamed "Tom", which had variable intonation based on the urgency of the report. As part of this upgrade, a Spanish voice, "Javier", was added at a few sites.

April 2004: Public Alert-Certified Radios Introduced

Since April 2004, radio models marketed as "Public Alert-certified" must include specific features and meet certain performance criteria.

2004: Weatheradio Canada Integrates SAME Alerting

In 2004, Environment Canada eventually integrated SAME alerting capability into its Weatheradio Canada network.

September 2008: Walgreens to Utilize SAME Technology

In September 2008, Walgreens announced that it would utilize SAME technology to deliver local weather alerts via a system of LED billboards.

2009: CEA-2009 Standard for Public Alert Radios

Since April 2004, radio models marketed as "Public Alert-certified" must meet certain performance criteria, as specified in electronics industry standard CEA-2009.

2012: Miami NWR Station Broadcasts in Spanish

In 2012, Miami's NWR station, WZ2531 in Hialeah, began broadcasting weather information in Spanish, separate from the English-language channel.

2014: Brownsville NWR Station Broadcasts in Spanish

In 2014, Brownsville's NWR station, WZ2541 in Pharr and WZ2542 in Harlingen, began broadcasting weather information in Spanish, separate from the English-language channel.

2016: Over a Thousand NWR Transmitters Covering 95% of the Population

As of 2016, there are over a thousand NWR transmitters across the U.S., covering 95% of the population.

2016: Nationwide Implementation of a New "Paul" Voice

In 2016, a completely new voice from the VoiceText text-to-speech system, also named "Paul", was introduced and implemented nationwide by late in the year.

2016: Replacement of CRS with Broadcast Message Handler (BMH)

In 2016, the NWS replaced almost all of the CRS systems with the Broadcast Message Handler (BMH). The new system replaced "Donna" and "Tom" with an improved "Paul" voice from NeoSpeech, and "Javier" was replaced with a female voice named "Violetta".

April 2017: Wunderadio Discontinues Live Streams

In April 2017, the Wunderadio section of Weather Underground, a weather information website, discontinued live streams of NWR broadcasts. Consequently, alternative sources developed to continue monitoring live streams.

January 1, 2019: Designation of ASM Channels

Effective January 1, 2019, channels 2027 (161.950 MHz, 27B) and 2028 (162.000 MHz, 28B) are designated as ASM 1 and ASM 2 respectively for application specific messages (ASM).