WFO Blacksburg - NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio Information (original) (raw)
Blacksburg, VA
Weather Forecast Office
Weather information can be obtained by listening to NOAA Weather Radio. NOAA Weather Radio stations broadcast the latest weather information and are one of the primary means for receiving severe weather information and general forecast information. Weather radios can be purchased form local electronic supply dealers, and some scanners are equipped to pick up the weather radio frequencies.
Some models have an alarm feature. This feature sounds a tone and turns on the radio when we activate the tone alert from our office. We normally send the Routine Weekly Test message around noon on Wednesdays, unless severe weather is a possibility. The test is done at 7pm on the first Wednesday of each month. If there is a possibility of severe weather, we postpone the test until the next fair weather day, usually Thursday.
We activate the tone alert for the following watches or warnings.
- Tornado watch
- Tornado warning
- Severe thunderstorm watch
- Severe thunderstorm warning
- Flash flood warning
- Blizzard warning
- Winter storm warning
Newer weather radios that are equipped with SAME (Specific Area Message Encoder) are available. This allows you to program your radio to receive the tone warning alert only for the counties you program! In addition, you can hear the latest forecasts and other weather information.
Generally, our NWR program consists of local forecast, local hourly weather, the regional weather summary, and the hazardous weather outlook.
Climate and river information is included in the program rotation at certain times of the day.
NOAA Weather Radio Stations Operated from Blacksburg, VA
| Location | Call Letters | Frequency (mhz) |
|---|---|---|
| Hinton, WV | WXM-72 | 162.425 |
| Roanoke, VA | WXL-60 | 162.475 |
| Lynchburg, VA | WXL-92 | 162.550 |
| Mount Jefferson, NC | WNG-588 | 162.500 |
| Halifax/South Boston, VA | KJY-86 | 162.525 |
| Wytheville, VA | WZ-2500 | 162.450 |
| Richlands, VA | WZ-2543 | 162.425 |
WFO Blacksburg's Forecast Listening Areas
NOAA Weather Radio Stations Just Outside Our Forecast Area
| Location | Call Letters | Frequency (mhz) | Responsible NWS Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beckley, WV | WXM-71 | 162.550 | Charleston, WV |
| Bristol, TN | WXK-47 | 162.550 | Morristown, TN |
| Winston-Salem, NC | WXL-42 | 162.400 | Raleigh, NC |
| Covesville, VA | KZZ-28 | 162.450 | Sterling, VA |
Useful Links
NOAA Weather Radio Coverage Maps
County-by-county SAME codes VA WV NC