Weather Radio

A weather radio service is a broadcast service that airs weather reports. When the radio is on and tuned to the weather band, it airs both normal and emergency weather information. If the radio is off or tuned to another band, it automatically turns on and goes to the weather band for emergency weather information.

Weather radio services may also broadcast non-weather related emergency information, such as in the event of a natural disaster, an AMBER alert or a terrorist attack. They generally broadcast in a preallocated very high frequency (VHF) range using FM. Usually a dedicated weather radio receiver or radio scanner is needed for listening, although in some locations a weather radio broadcast may be retransmitted on a conventional AM or FM frequency (as well as HD Radio substations), some terrestrial television stations broadcasting in MTS stereo transmit weather radio on their second audio program (SAP) channel as well as on one of its digital subchannels (where news and weather are applicable), on local public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channels or during Emergency Alert System activations for tornado warnings primarily on cable systems.

Weather radios come with several features that make them very helpful in case of an emergency. Some models use crank power, in addition to mains electricity and batteries in case of a power outage. Some models have an embedded flashlight, and can double as a cellphone charger. Some also serve as a more general emergency radio.

Weather radios are widely sold in home electronics stores and even many supermarkets and drugstores in the United States and Canada, with the supermarkets and drugstores selling them more in the southern and midwestern U.S., which is in Tornado Alley. The price of a consumer model weather radio varies depending on the model and its extra features.

Most receivers from the 2000s and the 2010s, and even some from the mid-1990s, are able to listen silently for weather alerts via the SAME protocol and then sound an alarm to warn the listener of the oncoming weather or event. Additionally, many weather radio vendors also include a visual element such as colored warning LEDs or strobe lights which attach via an accessory port to give a warning to those who are hearing impaired.