NOAA SAME and Event Codes Reference
This page consolidates two reference sets you need to program a weather alert radio correctly: the Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) county code system, and the EAS event codes that the National Weather Service and other authorities broadcast through NOAA Weather Radio. Both are maintained by the National Weather Service, but the original references are split across several NWS office pages and are easy to lose.
Part 1: SAME County Codes (6-digit FIPS)
Every county and county equivalent in the United States has a 6-digit numeric code. The format follows the federal FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) standard with one prefix digit added for SAME use.
Code structure
P = Part-county indicator (0 = entire county)
S S = State FIPS code (01-56)
C C C = County FIPS code (001-840)
For example, 042133 is York County, Pennsylvania:
- 0 = entire county (not a partial-county alert)
- 42 = Pennsylvania state FIPS
- 133 = York County FIPS
The P digit can be a value from 1-9 when an alerting authority chooses to issue a partial-county alert (for example, “northeastern Caddo County, Oklahoma”). Most consumer radios treat any P value other than 0 as the same county for alerting purposes; a few newer units like the Midland WR120DSP can filter on partial-county codes specifically.
Finding your county code
The NWS maintains the official county-code lookup here:
weather.gov/nwr/counties — official NWS SAME county code listing, searchable by state.
You can also call the automated NWR-SAME hotline at 1-888-NWR-SAME (1-888-697-7263) for codes by state and county, or look up your county on the NWS station coverage map at weather.gov/nwr/Maps.
Let the ASAR do the legwork for you
Looking up your home county is easy. Building the full picture of which counties you actually need to program — home, work, school, the route between them, the storm tracks that affect your area, the adjacent counties whose problems become your problems within an hour — is harder. That is exactly what the Area-Specific Assessment Report (ASAR) is built to deliver.
What’s in an ASAR for weather-radio programming:
- Every county within your selected radius (50-mile, 100-mile, or custom) with its 6-digit SAME code already pulled.
- The NOAA Weather Radio transmitter(s) covering your area, the broadcast frequency for each, and the coverage footprint so you know which frequency to program.
- The local NWS Weather Forecast Office (WFO) responsible for your area, with contact channels and SKYWARN program information.
- The dominant weather hazards for your AOR — what you should actually be programmed to alert on — drawn from historical event data, not guesswork.
- Adjacent-county and upstream-watershed considerations for flood and severe weather, so the codes you program reflect how weather actually moves into your area.
An ASAR turns the SAME code list from “a thing I have to figure out” into “a thing already in your report.” For households near county or state lines, near a watershed, or on the leading edge of a typical storm track, the surrounding-area context is the part that matters most.
Special SAME codes
| Code | Meaning | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| 000000 | All-zeros / Any location | Programs the radio to alert on every SAME message received, regardless of county. Useful for a base-camp or operations radio that needs to see everything in the transmitter footprint. |
| PSSCCC | Specific county or partial county | The normal use case. Program one code per county you want to monitor. |
| SSC000 | Entire state | Some radios accept a state-wide code. Useful only for very small states; most users want county-level filtering. |
Part 2: EAS / SAME Event Codes
Every SAME message carries a three-letter event code that identifies the type of alert. The full operational list is below, grouped by category. Codes marked ALWAYS in the rightmost column are always broadcast by NWR transmitters in their coverage area. Codes marked SOMETIMES are broadcast depending on the office, the event, and local EAS plans.
Weather-Related Events
| Code | Event | Type | NWR |
|---|---|---|---|
| BZW | Blizzard Warning | Warning | SOMETIMES |
| CFA | Coastal Flood Watch | Watch | SOMETIMES |
| CFW | Coastal Flood Warning | Warning | SOMETIMES |
| DSW | Dust Storm Warning | Warning | SOMETIMES |
| EWW | Extreme Wind Warning | Warning | SOMETIMES |
| FFA | Flash Flood Watch | Watch | SOMETIMES |
| FFW | Flash Flood Warning | Warning | ALWAYS |
| FFS | Flash Flood Statement | Statement | SOMETIMES |
| FLA | Flood Watch | Watch | SOMETIMES |
| FLW | Flood Warning | Warning | SOMETIMES |
| FLS | Flood Statement | Statement | SOMETIMES |
| HWA | High Wind Watch | Watch | SOMETIMES |
| HWW | High Wind Warning | Warning | SOMETIMES |
| HUA | Hurricane Watch | Watch | ALWAYS |
| HUW | Hurricane Warning | Warning | ALWAYS |
| HLS | Hurricane Statement | Statement | SOMETIMES |
| SVA | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | Watch | ALWAYS |
| SVR | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | Warning | ALWAYS |
| SVS | Severe Weather Statement | Statement | SOMETIMES |
| SQW | Snow Squall Warning * | Warning | SOMETIMES |
| SMW | Special Marine Warning | Warning | SOMETIMES |
| SPS | Special Weather Statement | Statement | SOMETIMES |
| SSA | Storm Surge Watch | Watch | SOMETIMES |
| SSW | Storm Surge Warning | Warning | SOMETIMES |
| TOA | Tornado Watch | Watch | ALWAYS |
| TOR | Tornado Warning | Warning | ALWAYS |
| TRA | Tropical Storm Watch | Watch | SOMETIMES |
| TRW | Tropical Storm Warning | Warning | SOMETIMES |
| TSA | Tsunami Watch | Watch | SOMETIMES |
| TSW | Tsunami Warning | Warning | SOMETIMES |
| WSA | Winter Storm Watch | Watch | SOMETIMES |
| WSW | Winter Storm Warning | Warning | SOMETIMES |
* Snow Squall Warnings (SQW) are broadcast over NOAA Weather Radio but are not conveyed to the broader Emergency Alert System.
Non-Weather-Related Events (state and local)
These codes cover civil emergencies, infrastructure events, and law enforcement situations. Activation through EAS is optional for broadcasters.
| Code | Event | Type |
|---|---|---|
| AVA | Avalanche Watch | Watch |
| AVW | Avalanche Warning | Warning |
| BLU | Blue Alert (law enforcement officer in danger) | Emergency |
| CAE | Child Abduction Emergency (AMBER Alert) | Emergency |
| CDW | Civil Danger Warning | Warning |
| CEM | Civil Emergency Message | Emergency |
| EQW | Earthquake Warning | Warning |
| EVI | Evacuation Immediate | Warning |
| FRW | Fire Warning | Warning |
| HMW | Hazardous Materials Warning | Warning |
| LEW | Law Enforcement Warning | Warning |
| LAE | Local Area Emergency | Emergency |
| TOE | 911 Telephone Outage Emergency | Emergency |
| NUW | Nuclear Power Plant Warning | Warning |
| RHW | Radiological Hazard Warning | Warning |
| SPW | Shelter in Place Warning | Warning |
| VOW | Volcano Warning | Warning |
Administrative Events
| Code | Event | Type |
|---|---|---|
| ADR | Administrative Message | Statement |
| DMO | Practice / Demo Warning | Test |
| RMT | Required Monthly Test | Test |
| RWT | Required Weekly Test | Test |
National Codes
| Code | Event | Type |
|---|---|---|
| EAN | Emergency Action Notification (national level) | Emergency |
| NIC | National Information Center (legacy) | Statement |
| NPT | National Periodic Test | Test |
| NST | National Silent Test | Test |
FCC Naming Convention
The FCC established a naming convention for EAS event codes. For most new and existing hazardous state and local codes, the third letter follows this pattern:
Warning
An event that alone poses a significant threat to public safety or property, where probability and location are high and onset is relatively short.
Watch
Meets warning criteria, but onset time, probability, or location is uncertain. Conditions are favorable; act on a watch by getting ready, not by sheltering.
Emergency
An event that alone may not cause direct injury or damage, but indirectly creates conditions threatening public safety. Examples: 911 outage, large-area power failure.
Statement
Follow-up information to an active warning, watch, or emergency. Often updates or cancellations.
Three legacy event codes do not follow this convention but remain operational: TOR (Tornado Warning), SVR (Severe Thunderstorm Warning), and EVI (Evacuation Immediate). These were established before the convention and are not being renamed.
Practical Programming Guidance
Step 1: Confirm your NOAA frequency
NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts on seven VHF frequencies: 162.400, 162.425, 162.450, 162.475, 162.500, 162.525, and 162.550 MHz. Use the NWS station listing at weather.gov/nwr/station_listing to find the transmitter that covers your address, and program that frequency into your radio.
Step 2: Program your SAME county codes
Enter your home county code first. If you live within ten miles of a county border, or commute to a different county for work, add those codes too. The radio will alert for any programmed county.
Step 3: Decide on event filtering
For a household radio, leave the default event set alone for the first month. After you have lived with the alert pattern, decide which non-critical statements to suppress. Suggested keep-on list at minimum: TOR, SVR, FFW, HUW, TSW, EWW, TOA, FFA, HUA, EVI, CDW, CEM, NUW, RHW, SPW, HMW, FRW, EAN.
Step 4: Test the radio weekly
NWS broadcasts a Required Weekly Test (RWT) on most transmitters every Wednesday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time, weather permitting. Confirm the radio receives it. If you miss two weeks in a row, troubleshoot the antenna, battery, or frequency selection before severe weather season arrives.
Step 5: Pair with other channels
NOAA Weather Radio is not a single-point solution. Pair it with Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone, a local SKYWARN or weather net on amateur radio, and a working knowledge of your local NWS office’s social channels. When one channel fails, the others catch the alert.