May 8 is NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards Awareness Day. The campaign encourages all Wisconsin residents to own a NOAA All Hazards Alert weather radio. These radios provide a 24-hour source of weather forecasts, watches, warnings and non-weather emergency information from the National Weather Service and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Weather radios are “smoke detectors for danger.” A NOAA weather radio with an alarm and battery back-up is one of the best ways to be protected against severe weather and gives families and individuals time to seek appropriate shelter. If there is no severe weather or emergency, the radio can be switched to a silent, stand-by mode.

For additional information about weather radios, visit readywisconsin.wi.gov. For more information, contact Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Tod Pritchard at tod.pritchard@wisconsin.gov.