Public Information Statement
Issued by NWS Des Moines, IA
Issued by NWS Des Moines, IA
959 NOUS43 KDMX 262031 PNSDMX IAZ075-084>086-095>097-272045- Public Information Statement National Weather Service Des Moines IA 231 PM CST Tue Nov 26 2024 ...NOAA Weather Radio Enhancements for Lake Rathbun and Ottumwa Transmitters... On or before December 6th, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Des Moines will be making several enhancements to the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) broadcasts at the Lake Rathbun and Ottumwa transmitters in southern Iowa. Changes for these enhancements include: Separated Programming - programming will be separated on the Lake Rathbun and Ottumwa transmitters, making broadcast cycles shorter and more geographically targeted. Previously, technology limitations required broadcasts at Lake Rathbun and Ottumwa to be combined and mirrored. Reliability - broadcast audio relayed from NWS Des Moines to the NWR in Ottumwa will change from dedicated copper phone lines to cellular. This will provide better reliability of broadcast uptime. County-Level Alerting Changes - Separated programming at the Lake Rathbun and Ottumwa transmitters will result in refinement of Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) county-based alerting. Alerts for the Ottumwa NWR will now include the following counties: Davis, Keokuk, Mahaska, Monroe, and Wapello (Davis, Mahaska, and Monroe Counties added due to adequate coverage). Alerts for the Lake Rathbun NWR will include the following counties: Appanoose, Davis, Lucas, Monroe, Wapello, and Wayne (removal of Keokuk and Mahaska due to inability to receive the broadcast). IMPORTANT - no actions are necessary for NWR users in this area. County codes remain unchanged thus alerting will not be impacted. For more information, please contact: Chad Hahn Warning Coordination Meteorologist National Weather Service Des Moines chad.hahn@noaa.gov $$