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Weather alerts: let the radio watch for severe weather
How NOAA weather radio and weather alert work, and which radios support it.
Why weather alerts
Outdoors, driving or in emergencies, a weather alert lets the HT silently monitor weather/disaster broadcasts while you use a normal channel, then beep when an alert is issued. General method here; menu paths differ.
NOAA Weather Radio (North America)
NOAA Weather Radio (NWR): VHF 162.400–162.550 MHz, 7 channels (162.400 / 162.425 / 162.450 / 162.475 / 162.500 / 162.525 / 162.550 MHz, 25 kHz spacing). Uses SAME area codes and the EAS emergency alert system for county/zone-level alerts.
Per-model support
- UV-K5: built-in NOAA weather channels with weather alert (silent monitoring while idle, then alarm).
- FT-65R: WX weather-channel receive and a Weather Alert function (monitors while you use another channel).
- UV-5R: most versions lack a dedicated weather channel/alert; you can manually tune near 162.5 MHz but get no automatic alert.
How to use it
- Store your local NOAA channel as a memory (or switch to WX mode).
- Enable Weather Alert: the radio silently watches that frequency and beeps on a SAME alert.
- Some radios let you set a SAME county code so only local alerts sound.
Usage tips
- NOAA covers North America only; elsewhere use local weather radio or phone alerts (e.g. Japan J-Alert / municipal broadcast, EU national cell broadcast).
- The alert is receive only, no licence needed to listen.
- Treat alerts as a secondary cue; official channels are authoritative.
- In remote areas NOAA signal may be weak — confirm you can receive it locally.
Compliance note
⚠
The weather band is receive only — never transmit on NOAA frequencies. For emergency decisions rely on official issuances and local warning channels.
My radio has no weather alert?
Manually tune to the local weather frequency to listen; better, pair it with a phone alert app and official channels.
Does weather alert need a licence?
No. It is pure reception; anyone may listen to weather broadcasts.