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Aids for Identifying NOAA Weather Radio Stations

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    Aids for Identifying NOAA Weather Radio Stations

    Identifying NOAA Weather Radio stations can be a challenge, especially with meteor scatter (Ms) pings which are often short in duration. When the MUF makes it to 162.4, openings can also be short-lived. Now that all stations run the voice of "Paul", you don't get a lot of clues to work from.

    "Ethan" on the WXDX Slack channel offered some great resources:

    Ethan 11:41 PM
    Most of the stations I've confirmed through MS on NOAA Weather Radio have been from Zone Forecast Packages (ZFPs) which show forecasts for specific counties and other areas, or regional weather roundups (RWRs) which are updated every hour and show current conditions in and around specific areas, usually statewide or regional. You can find historical text products from Iowa Environmental Mesonet which is what I usually use. https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/list.phtml
    mesonet.agron.iastate.edu
    IEM :: NWS Text Product by Issuing Center by Date
    Iowa Environmental Mesonet of Iowa State University


    Using this resource, you can literally compare text versions of ZFPs, RWRs, etc. word-for-word against what you heard during an opening to find a match. Combined with other clues, this can usually lead you to an ID.

    Rick Dau provided another great link to a site that archives all weather warnings in the nation for at least three hours. So if you hear a weather warning message, you can obtain a text version of that warning to compare word-for-word to help with IDs.


    Rick Dau 7:34 AM
    Ethan, that's a great link, and I'll keep it in mind. I just tried to use it to solve an unID from 0400 UTC on Tues. 8/11/2020. I was in Iowa City at the time, and got tropo reception of someone on 162.500 with a mention of "Mount Carmel" in the close-to-home temperature update and one of "Lafayette, Indiana" at the beginning of the checking-around-the-region temps. My first thought was KXI46 in Shelbyville, Illinois, but listening to audio on Matt Sittel's website, it doesn't match up. My next guess is WWG72 Georgia, Indiana. I checked the "HRRIND" at 0400 UTC, but I can't see anything that would confirm whether or not I had WWG72, although Mount Carmel (in Illinois) and Lafayette are both listed.
    7:36
    The link that I use most often during severe storm season is kamala.cod.edu/svr. Someone in WTFDA passed that along to me about 5 years ago, and it's been a huge help over the years.



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