A survey of signal strength and overall usability of NOAA Weather Radio receivers installed in the public schools of Pitt County, North Carolina: Implications for preparedness officials

The NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) network remains the sole publicly owned means that public-warning authorities have of awakening a citizenry, often disengaged from commercial media or even fast asleep, to the approach of life-threatening hazards. NWR is distinctly the government's only mechanism, short of a bullhorn in the street or a knock on the door, for communicating hazard warnings directly to citizens without corporate intervention or any recurring subscription cost to end users. NWR thus stands alone in permitting the National Weather Service, autonomously, to fulfill the basic, core governmental purpose and function of warning the public against surprise disaster.

The central public-policy role of NWR -- "the Voice of the National Weather Service" -- was recently borne out by efforts by the federal government to ensure that every school in the nation is equipped with WRSAME NWR receivers. By now, every school should be in possession of a modern NWR receiving unit. But how effectively are these radios being utilized by local school officials?

During the summer and fall of 2008 the researcher visited all 35 public schools in Pitt County, NC, to evaluate each facility's use of NWR and to survey the usefulness of the system as reported by school-office administrators. Findings include the following observations:

• 9 of 35 schools either had no NWR receiver or were not using the receiver they did have (radio was not activated).

• Not a single participant could cite which transmitter the school's radio was tuned to, indicating intellectual disengagement by end users from the system.

• Only 20 of 35 schools replied affirmatively when asked whether they reliably receive alarms.

• Cases were observed where poor signal strength was reported, but an on-the-spot check by the researcher revealed good signal strength; and cases were observed where the reverse was true. Significantly, reception (as actually observed by the researcher) was absent or weak to the point of non-usability at 10 of 35 sites -- this, in one of the more urban counties of eastern North Carolina.

• At one school, the receiver was kept in the janitor's office owing to weak signal strength received in the school's administrative office. The radio is thus not monitored when the janitor is out of his office.

• WXL-59, transmitting from Edgecombe County (southeast of Rocky Mount), is intended to serve the northwestern half of Pitt County; and KEC-84, transmitting from New Bern in Craven County, is intended to serve the southeastern half of the county. However, in all cases except 2, the station to which the school's NWR receiver was tuned was WXL-59 (KEC-84 being the 2 exceptions). This user preference for WXL-59 probably owes to programming, in that KEC-84 features much more marine information -- something of limited usefulness to Pitt County school decision-makers. The researcher found surprisingly strong signal reception from WXL-59 even in schools south and east of Greenville center city. This indicates that WXL-59 can cover most or all of Pitt County adequately if end users, where needed, will make provision for signal capture -- perhaps via an outdoor antenna, a simple wire J-pole taped to the inside of an office window, or even just an $8 set of TV rabbit ears (which the researcher has used to good effect).

Findings indicate that some follow-up effort is needed by the National Weather Service or other responsible authorities to brief school administrators on the use and importance of NWR in order to ensure that schools receive effective service from the radio units they now possess. Absent this outreach, the mission of NWR will in many instances go unfulfilled.