000 NOUS45 KABQ 241435 PNSABQ PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NEW MEXICO 830 AM MDT FRI JUN 24 2005 ...THIS IS FLASH FLOOD AND LIGHTNING AWARENESS WEEK IN NEW MEXICO... FLASH FLOOD AND LIGHTNING AWARENESS WEEK IS YOUR CHANCE TO LEARN ABOUT OUR NEW MEXICO SUMMERTIME WEATHER HAZARDS AND THE SAFETY RULES THAT WILL HELP KEEP YOU SAFE. TODAY'S TOPIC...HOW DO I STAY INFORMED ABOUT FLASH FLOOD AND LIGHTNING DANGERS AND OTHER HAZARDOUS SUMMERTIME WEATHER? THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PROVIDES BOTH DIRECT BROADCASTS AND WORKS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH YOUR LOCAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS TO QUICKLY DISSEMINATE ALL WEATHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS. DIRECT AND CONTINUOUS WEATHER BROADCASTS INCLUDING UPDATED FORECASTS, LOCAL OBSERVATIONS AND ALL WEATHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS ARE MADE ON 11 NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTERS WHICH PROVIDE SERVICE TO MOST LARGER CITIES AND TOWNS ACROSS THE STATE. HOWEVER...SIGNAL STRENGTH AND RECEPTION CAN VARY CONSIDERABLY BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEX TERRAIN ACROSS THE STATE. MANY ELECTRONICS STORES SELL THE SPECIALIZED NOAA WEATHER RADIOS. BE SURE THE RADIO YOU PURCHASE INCLUDES THE ALARM FEATURE...SPECIFIC AREA MESSAGE ENCODER...WHICH AUTOMATICALLY ALARMS YOUR RECEIVER WHENEVER THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES WARNINGS FOR YOUR AREA. MOST COMMERICAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS IMMEDIATELY BROADCAST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLASH FLOOD OR SEVERE STORM WARNINGS AND WATCHES. STATEMENTS AND SHORT TERM FORECASTS ARE LESS URGENT MESSAGES AND MAY BE PRODVIDED DURING REGULAR WEATHERCASTS. WHY CAN'T I JUST RELY ON THE INTERNET TO RECEIVE ALL MY WEATHER WARNING INFORMATION? NEW MEXICO FORECASTS AND WARNINGS, PLUS A VARIETY OF WEATHER RADAR AND SATELLITE INFORMATION ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH BOTH GOVERNMENT AND COMMERCIAL INTERNET SITES. HOWEVER...DO NOT RELY ON THE INTERNET FOR THE SAME TIMELY DELIVERY OF WARNINGS AS THROUGH EITHER NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL COMMERCIAL BROADCASTERS. THE TIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OVER THE AIR RECEIPT OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS AND INTERNET DELIVERY OF THESE CRITICAL MESSAGES CAN BE SUBSTANTIAL. THE BEST METHOD WOULD BE TO USE A COMBINATION OF OVER THE AIR AND INTERNET SERVICES TO GET ALL THE WEATHER INFORMATION. I LIVE IN A RURAL AREA OF NEW MEXICO WITH LIMITED COMMERCIAL BROADCASTS, NO INTERNET OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO SERVICE. WHAY CAN I DO? THE EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK ALSO PROVIDES A COST EFFECTIVE SATELLITE DELIVERY OF FORECAST AND WARNING INFORMATION. IN GENERAL YOU CAN DIRECTLY RECEIVE WEATHER INFORMATION TO YOUR HOME COMPUTER BY PURCHASING A RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE SATELLITE RECEIVER. THERE ARE NO RECURRING MONTHLY OR OTHER CHARGES FOR THE DATA AND EQUIPMENT. && INFORMATION ON THE NATIONAL LIGHTNING SATEFY AWARENESS CAN BE FOUND AT WEB SITE WWW.LIGHTNINGSAFETY.NOAA.GOV. LOCAL FLASH FLOOD AND LIGHTNING SAFETY TOPICS CAN BE FOUND AT ONE OF THE ADDITIONAL WEB SITES SHOWN BELOW. THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTERS WITH LOCATIONS, AND BROADCAST FREQUENCIES USED IN NEW MEXICO: TRANSMITTER CALL FREQ MHZ WATTS NWS PROGRAMMING OFFICE ALBUQUERQUE WXJ34 162.400 100 ALBUQUERQUE, NM ARTESIA WXN24 162.425 100 MIDLAND/ODESSA, TX CARLSBAD WWF37 162.475 100 MIDLAND/ODESSA, TX CLOVIS WXJ35 162.475 100 ALBUQUERQUE, NM DES MOINES WXL90 162.550 100 ALBUQUERQUE, NM FARMINGTON WXJ37 162.475 100 ALBUQUERQUE, NM HOBBS WXJ36 162.400 100 MIDLAND/ODESSA, TX LAS CRUCES WXL91 162.400 100 EL PASO, TX ROSWELL WWG36 162.450 100 ALBUQUERQUE, NM RUIDOSO WXJ38 162.550 100 ALBUQUERQUE, NM SANTA FE WXJ33 162.550 100 ALBUQUERQUE, NM DETAILS ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO INCLUDING SITE LOCATIONS AND SIGNAL COVERAGE MAPS, PLUS INFORMATION ON AVAILABLE COMMERICAL RECEIVERS AND A TOPIC ON HOW TO PROGRAM SPECIFIC AREA MESSAGE ENCODERS (SAME) CAN BE FOUND AT WEB SITE WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NWR. FOR DETAILS ON THE EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK VISIT THE WEB SITE: HTTP://IWIN.NWS.NOAA.GOV/EMWIN/INDEX.HTM. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...PLUS HELP IN PREPAREDNESS PLANNING OR MEDIA INTERVIEWS IS AVAILABLE BY CONTACTING ONE OF THESE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES... NORTHERN AND EASTERN NEW MEXICO... (ALBUQUERQUE OFFICE) KEITH HAYES - WARNING COORDINATION METEOROLOGIST (505)243-0702 SOUTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO... (EL PASO AREA OFFICE) JOHN FAUSETT - WARNING COORDINATION METEOROLOGIST (505)589-4088 SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO... (MIDLAND TX OFFICE) PAT VESPER - WARNING COORDINATION METEOROLOGIST (432)563-5006 INTERNET SITES FOR THESE NEW MEXICO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE - HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/ABQ NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO - HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/ELP NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND - HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MAF FOR SAFETY INFORMATION ON SEVERE WEATHER YOU MAY WRITE TO... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 2341 CLARK CARR LOOP SE ALBUQUERQUE NM 87106 $$ KH