You just don't become a Skywarn spotter by someone waving a magic wand. Toth endorses the weather service's push for more radios, particularly in Florida's unpredictable climate. And Toth says consumers shouldn't be intimidated by the technology of more sophisticated models. The radio is silent until it receives a special signal broadcast by NOAA when a weather watch or warning is issued. In addition to the broadcast, the radio sounds an alert loud enough to wake someone from sleep.
Some models also show a text message describing the type of weather alert.
Users can choose to receive some or all of 54 types of alerts, including severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, coastal flooding and high winds. Older weather radios receive information for wide areas, often far from where the listener lives or long after a storm has passed. Newer models can be set to receive alerts for a specific area, such as a listener's county. NOAA breaks down areas by codes, which the owner uses to program the radio. The radio should be able to receive all seven frequencies between 162.4 megahertz and 162.55 megahertz that NOAA broadcasts on nationwide.