NOAA Weather Radio now active in Wilkes Co.

Wilkes County residents are once again protected by a local radio station that will sound the alarm in case of severe weather.

The 300-watt radio station is now operational at 162.500 MHz - Channel 5 on most weather radios, Wilkes Emergency Management Agency Director Alan Poss said. Georgia Director of Homeland Security Charley English will visit Washington January 9 for the dedication of the Washington weather radio station.

After years of having hit-andmiss coverage from nearby stations, Wilkes County residents now have a reliable NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) weather radio broadcast to warn of approaching severe weather by sounding an alarm and then broadcasting details about it.

Local residents have had to rely on signals from Athens and Greensboro for alerts, and many areas of the county could not receive any signal at all, Poss said.

Now, with a 300-watt transmitter broadcasting through an antenna mounted on the main mast at the Wilkes County law enforcement center, the weather radio has full coverage here. According to NOAA coverage maps, the Wilkes County station covers all of Wilkes and Lincoln Counties, and large parts of Taliaferro, Warren, McDuffie, and Oglethorpe Counties.

"Every home needs a NOAA weather radio. Placed in your bedroom, it will wake you up as severe weather approaches," Poss said. "It's like a smoke detector - it won't bother you until it saves your life."

NOAA weather radios can be purchased at most electronics stores. Radios with "SAME" technology will allow owners to program it to sound the warning alarm for the local area.

Poss said that the effort to get Wilkes County's weather radio back on line has taken years of wrangling with state and federal officials. "I'm extra proud of this project," he said. "We've run into so many dead ends over the years."

Poss said he applied for a FEMA hazard mitigation grant more than two years ago. Help from Sen. Saxby Chambliss' officewas instrumental in getting the $45,000 grant pushed through to fund the station, Poss said.

"This has taken a lot of time and effort to get, but we've gotten the National Weather Service, who will own the station, to take over the maintenance costs, and that was the last thing in the way."

The transmitter has been run for a 30-day test on the assigned frequency and no interference with other stations has been detected, he said.

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