December 6, 2008

Nenana, Alaska, Receives Nation's 1,000th NOAA Weather Radio Transmitter

Central interior Alaskan residents, visitors, barge captains and railroad operators now have access to weather information anytime, thanks to a new NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards transmitter recently installed on Toghotthele Hill in Nenana, the 1,000th of these transmitters installed by NOAA.

Residents of the Nenana area can tune to 162.4 MHz on NOAA Weather Radio for the broadcasts from NOAA's Weather Forecast Office in Fairbanks. NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards, known as "The Voice of the National Weather Service," is a continuous 24-hour source of the latest weather forecasts and warnings.

"Citizens can now have weather information available at their fingertips any time in the Nenana area," said John Dragomir, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Fairbanks. "The Nenana transmitter significantly increases the weather service's ability to reach Alaska's central interior directly with weather warnings and forecasts. A NOAA Weather Radio in the home, car, truck, boat and other vehicles helps protect families, individuals and property."

This radio broadcast has been made possible through a partnership between NOAA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the city of Nenana. USDA Rural Development provided $39,438 to the City of Nenana for this project. Matching funds and in kind contributions came from the City of Nenana. USDA Rural Development has awarded 97 Weather Radio Transmitter grants for installations in 27 states and Puerto Rico since 2001.

USDA Rural Development acting Alaska state director Chad Padgett said "USDA Rural Development is pleased to partner with the National Weather Service, Nenana mayor Jason Mayrand and our great community supporters of this Program. We are pleased to administer this grant program because NOAA Weather Radio promotes public safety and awareness, and most importantly, saves lives."

"Prior to this opportunity, we had to call the weather service directly in order to receive weather warnings," said Mayrand. "Often we would hear of hazardous weather conditions through the grape vine. With the new transmitter in place not only do Nenana residents have access but also a large population of people that live in more remote regions of Interior Alaska."

"Now that the NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards network has one thousand transmitters, we have the capability to send critical warnings and environmental information to 95 percent of the U.S. population," said Dr. John L. "Jack" Hayes, director of NOAA's National Weather Service. "NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards alerts the public to natural or man-made disasters, and keeps them informed until the danger has passed."

From a NOAA press release