Weather radios: what the National Weather Service says to look for in a NOAA Weather Radio receiver

NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is a network of more than 1,000 transmitters that broadcast warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information from the nearest National Weather Service (NWS) office, 24 hours a day. It covers all 50 states, adjacent coastal waters, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the U.S. Pacific Territories. Listening takes a receiver that can pick up the signal in the VHF public service band, on seven frequencies from 162.400 to 162.550 MHz. The NWS does not make, sell or endorse receivers, but it describes the features it considers useful and recommends two logos.

The broadcasts are not only about weather. Working with the Federal Communications Commission's Emergency Alert System, the network also carries warnings for other hazards, from earthquakes and chemical releases to AMBER alerts and 911 telephone outages, the NWS says.

Standalone or built in

The NWS divides receivers into two kinds. Standalone weather radios, handheld or desktop and sometimes with AM and FM bands, are mainly for the weather broadcasts; prices range from around $20 to over $100, depending on features. The weather band is also built into many multi-band devices: AM/FM radios, shortwave receivers, CB radios, VHF marine radios, scanners, GMRS/FRS two-way radios, car radios and some TV/radio combinations. The NWS says a standalone receiver may suit someone who wants to be alerted to warnings and watches day or night, and a multi-band device someone who only wants to tune in to the broadcast.

The features the NWS describes

On antennas, the NWS notes that the broadcasts sit just above FM radio, between TV channels 6 and 7, so an antenna designed for analog VHF television or FM radio should work.

How an alert reaches the radio

When the NWS sounds an alarm on the network, it broadcasts a SAME digital burst giving the type of message, the area affected and an expiration time of at most six hours, then a 10-second 1050 Hz tone, then a voice message, then an end-of-alert burst. Many receivers can sit muted in a standby or alert mode and turn on when an alert arrives. Tone-activated models switch on whenever the tone is broadcast, while SAME models react only to the county codes their owner has programmed.

Only the most imminent threats to life and property get the alarm. The NWS's guideline is that a message is alerted only if it is urgent enough to justify waking people in the middle of the night, and its use is left to local forecast offices, case by case, coordinated with each state's Emergency Alert System plan.

A transmitter's coverage typically extends about 40 miles on level terrain and usually takes in five to 10 average-sized counties; hills and mountains shrink it, the NWS says. Its site lists stations by state and county, gives the SAME codes for each county, and keeps a list of transmitters that are degraded or out of service. For help programming a particular receiver, the NWS directs owners to its manufacturer.

The two logos

The Public Alert logo is a registered trademark of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). A receiver that complies with all sections of the CTA-2009-C standard, “Performance Requirements for Public Alert Receivers,” can carry it after certification and licensing by the CTA.

The NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards logo is an NWS trademark, granted model by model by its NOAA Weather Radio Program Office. Only receivers with SAME or 1050 Hz tone alerting are eligible. Makers submit CTA-2009-C test results and at least two production samples with manuals, and the office reviews basic reliability, features and functions and user friendliness from a consumer's point of view. The NWS stresses that the office is not a testing facility or certification laboratory, and that a modified model needs a new application. A receiver can carry both logos if it meets both sets of requirements.

The NWS publishes a list of manufacturers whose radios have been evaluated against CTA-2009-C and approved to use its logo. When we read it on November 14, 2026, it named 18 manufacturers and eight resellers, by our count, including Midland Radio, Motorola Solutions, Sangean America and Cedar Electronics, listed as doing business as Cobra. The NWS adds that these companies may also make models that have not been approved, and that industrial and commercial receivers, built to receive Emergency Alert System broadcasts too, can cost from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

For recalls, the NWS points to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's website and its “Radios Weather” product type. Our guide to smoke and CO alarms sold online covers another kind of home alarm.