How to get tornado warnings on your phone and at home

A tornado warning only helps if it reaches you in time. No single alert method is perfect. Power can go out, a phone can be off or left in another room, and sirens are meant for people outdoors. It helps to have more than one way to get warnings, at home and on the go.

Wireless Emergency Alerts

Wireless Emergency Alerts, or WEA, are the emergency messages that pop up on cell phones. The NWS sends its most urgent warnings through this system.

• They are free. There is no app to download and nothing to sign up for. They do not count against your texting limits.
• They are hard to miss. They come with a special tone and vibration, each repeated twice.
• Every tornado warning is sent. Other weather alerts sent this way include hurricane, storm surge, tsunami, extreme wind, dust storm, and snow squall warnings, plus the most dangerous severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings.

There are limits to know about:

• They go to phones in the area. Alerts are broadcast from cell towers to supported phones in the warned area. The system does not track who you are or where your family lives. You get alerts for the area you are in, not for a parent’s home in another town or state.
• Not every phone gets them. Older phones may not support the alerts, and some phones need the setting turned on. Look in your phone’s notification settings. Some carriers label these alerts Government Alerts.
• Calls can delay them. If you are on a call, the alert may not show until you hang up.

NOAA Weather Radio

NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is a network of more than 1,000 transmitters that broadcasts weather information from the nearest NWS office, 24 hours a day. It covers all 50 states, nearby coastal waters, and U.S. territories. You need a special receiver to hear it.

Why it works well at home:

• A receiver with a tone alert turns on and sounds an alarm when a warning is issued, even if the radio was silent.
• Receivers with SAME coding can be set to alarm only for your county and for the types of warnings you choose.
• Some receivers can connect to strobe lights, pillow shakers, or bed shakers for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Make sure the receiver and any add-ons have battery backup so they keep working if the power goes out.

Check the NWS coverage maps to make sure a transmitter reaches the home before you rely on one.

Outdoor sirens

Outdoor warning sirens are run by local governments, not the NWS, and each community sets its own rules for when they sound. They are designed for people who are outdoors. Don’t count on hearing one inside. If your community has sirens, learn what their warning tone sounds like.

TV, radio, and apps

• Local TV and radio carry warnings through the Emergency Alert System, along with news updates.
• Weather apps can send notifications for warnings. Some let you get alerts for more than one location.
• Local alert systems: Ready.gov suggests signing up for your community’s warning system, if it has one.

Tips for older relatives

If an older parent does not use a smartphone, or lives far from you, a few steps help:

• Put a NOAA Weather Radio with a tone alert near where they sleep, set to their county, with fresh batteries.
• If they have a cell phone, check that it supports emergency alerts and that alerts are turned on.
• If they are hard of hearing, add a strobe light or bed shaker to the weather radio.
• Choose someone to keep watch on their address. A relative who follows warnings for their home can call when one is issued.
• Make a shelter plan with them ahead of time. See how to make a severe weather plan for family.

Kinwarn can alert you when a warning covers a family member’s home.