Efforts to expand and provide Weather Radio coverage to all of northern Missouri a reality
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The National Weather Service, in conjunction with Farmers’ Electric Cooperative and N.W. Electric Power Cooperative dedicated its newest NOAAS Weather Radio transmitter today, Dec. 18 at the N.W. office in Cameron.
The Cameron NOAA transmitter represents the completion of several years of combined efforts between the National Weather Service and several electric cooperatives to expand and provide Weather Radio coverage to all of northern Missouri.
In 2001, FEC and KMZU Radio worked alongside The National Weather Service and the Statewide Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to install a 1,000-watt NOAA antenna and transmitter on the radio stations tower, just east of Carrollton.
“When we were meeting with the agencies to get the transmitter and antenna installed at the Carrollton site, our staff noticed there was still in gap in the coverage on the I-35 corridor on the west side of our distribution system, as well as a large area in northwest Daviess County, where Lake Viking is located,” explained Dan Bryan, Executive Vice-President and CEO of Farmers’ Electric. “We asked the folks at SEMA if there was any way we could place another transmitter in this area to plug up the weather coverage hole.”
“They told us if we could find a tower, they would be able to help us,” Bryan continued. “And here we are today, dedicating this new system just in time for the winter season.”
“The dedication of the State Emergency Management Agency and several of Missouri’s electric cooperative made the vision of 100 per cent coverage a reality,” stated Mike Looney, Chief, Meteorological Services Division of the National Weather Service’s Central Region HQ in Kansas City. “Farmers’ Electric Cooperative played a very important role in the deployment of the new Cameron transmitter.”
The Cameron transmitter is a 300-watt unit and is the sixth transmitter overall that has been placed in north Missouri. The Cameron link is the final step in providing 100 percent coverage north of the Missouri River. The National Weather Service is currently completing the final two transmitters projects south of the Missouri River in McDonald County and Pulaski County. The transmitter signal in Cameron can be picked up at 162.475 MHz.
The NOAA Weather Radio serves as an all-hazards radio system for the United States and residents with NOAA Weather Radio receivers can receive alerts for a variety of severe weather conditions. Agreements with state and local emergency management agencies also allow for the use of NOAA Weather Radio to disseminate time critical alerts throughout the region.
“We are very pleased to have been able to work with the other agencies involved in this project,” Bryan noted. “The benefit to the area, from a safety standpoint, will make a difference for everyone in this area of the state.”
In 2001, FEC and KMZU Radio donated Weather Alert radio systems to every school building in the cooperative’s service territory. KMZU also donated radio systems to schools in their coverage area not served by FEC.
NOAA’s National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. The National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy.