9
How Your Weatheradio Works
UNDERSTANDING FIPS
CODES
For the purpose of broadcasting weather in-
formation, the NWS has divided the United
States into regions by state and county (or
parish, where applicable) then assigned a 6-
digit FIPS code to identify each county or
parish. For example, the code for Tarrant
County, Texas, is 048439.
The first digit in a FIPS code identifies the
county subdivision, the next two digits identi-
fy the state, and the last three digits identify
the county or parish.
Note: Most FIPS codes begin with 0, which
means the code represents an entire county.
The NWS, however, plans to eventually sub-
divide some large or geographically diverse
counties. When that happens, each subdivi-
sion will be assigned a digit from 1–9, result-
ing in codes such as 148439, 248439, and
so on.
Your Weatheradio can receive all SAME
alert signals broadcast within about a 50-mile
radius of where you installed it. To receive
SAME alerts and broadcasts about weather
occurring only in particular counties within
that area, you can program up to 15 FIPS
codes into the Weatheradio’s memory. For
example, this lets you avoid hearing an alert
that applies to an area within a 50-mile radi-
us but not necessarily to your county or par-
ish.
Obtaining Your Area’s FIPS
Code(s)
To obtain the FIPS code for the location
where you installed your Weatheradio, con-
tact your local RadioShack store or call the
NWS toll free at 1-888-NWR-SAME (1-888-
697-7263). If you call the NWS, follow the in-
structions you hear.
You can also obtain a state/country list of all
FIPS codes by visiting the NWS website:
www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/index-
nw.htm#sametable
Note: If you are close to a county or parish
line, you might want to obtain the codes for
the nearby counties or parishes.
Hint: Since you can program up to 15 FIPS
codes into the Weatheradio’s memory, you
might want to obtain the codes for other local
areas that you frequently travel through (as
long as those areas are within a 50 mile radi-
us of your location and within an area cov-
ered by your local NWS broadcast station).
That way, you can program those codes into
the Weatheradio and receive broadcasts
covering those locations, too.
Winter storm warning
WINTER
STORM
WARNING
Winter storm watch
WINTER
STORM
WATCH
Unrecognized code
ending in A
UNKNOWN
WATCH
TUNE TV
Unrecognized code
ending in W
UNKNOWN
WARNING
TUNE TV
Unrecognized code
ending in E
UNKNOWN
ENERGENC
TUNE TV
Unrecognized code
ending in S
UNKNOWN
STATEMNT
TUNE TV
Weather/Alert
Description
You See
12-253.fm Page 9 Tuesday, October 24, 2000 12:27 PM
