NOAA Weather Radios: Choosing One and Programming Your County
Last verified: August 2026
When a tornado warning comes in at 3 a.m., a weather radio wakes you up — even when the power and the internet are out. Here's how to choose one and set it for our county so it only alarms when it matters.
About NOAA weather radios
A NOAA weather radio is a small receiver that listens to the National Weather Service's own broadcast, around the clock, on a set of special frequencies. Its real value is the alarm: when the Weather Service issues a tornado warning, flash-flood warning, or other alert for your area, the radio blares even if it was silent — waking you at night when your phone might be on the charger downstairs, and working when the power and internet are down.
The trick that makes it bearable is the SAME code — a six-digit number for each county. Program in your county's code and the radio only alarms for your area, instead of every warning across the region. For Portage County, Ohio, that code is 039133. Our local transmitter, KHB59 near Akron, broadcasts on 162.550 MHz; eastern Portage is also served by another transmitter on 162.500 MHz. You can look up any county's code and its nearest station at weather.gov/nwr.
For storm-prone Ohio, a good weather radio with battery backup is one of the cheapest pieces of real peace of mind you can buy. Set it once and it quietly stands watch.
When to skip the DIY and just call: Choosing a radio with the right features · Programming Portage County's SAME code · Testing the alert so you know it works before you need it.
Common Questions
1 What should I look for in a weather radio?
- SAME programming, so it only alarms for your county — this is the key feature.
- Battery backup (or a hand crank) so it works when the power's out.
- A loud alarm and a bright light, helpful for waking you or for the hard-of-hearing.
- For deep sleepers or the deaf/hard-of-hearing, a bed-shaker accessory jack.
- Simple controls — a clear display and few buttons beat a fancy menu.
2 How do I program my county's SAME code?
- Find your county's six-digit code at weather.gov/nwr — Portage County, Ohio is 039133.
- Turn on the radio and let it tune to the local frequency (162.550 MHz here); many auto-scan.
- Open the SAME or “location” menu and enter your county code.
- You can add neighboring counties too if you want warnings for where family lives.
- Save it — the radio will now alarm only for the areas you entered.
3 How do I test it and set the alert types?
- Use the radio's test or “weekly test” feature to confirm the alarm sounds.
- Set which alerts you want — most people keep warnings on and turn off minor advisories.
- Make sure the volume is loud enough to wake you from another room.
- Confirm the backup batteries are fresh so an outage doesn't silence it.
- The Weather Service runs a test most weeks; a real one now and then is normal.
4 Do I still need one if I have a phone?
- Yes — your phone's alerts depend on cell service and a charged battery, both of which storms can take out.
- A weather radio keeps working on batteries when the power and internet are down.
- It can be louder and more reliable at waking you at night than a phone on silent.
- Use both together: phone alerts by day, weather radio as the always-on backstop.
- Want it programmed to our county and tested so you know it works? That's an easy $99 visit.
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