Gov. Beshear warns of N.O.A.A. weather radio outage

FRANKFORT, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) — As Kentucky communities continue recovering from Friday’s deadly tornado outbreak, Governor Andy Beshear is warning residents of a NOAA weather radio outage—just as another round of severe storms approaches.

In a message posted to Facebook, Beshear said a systems upgrade affecting NOAA and National Weather Service weather radios is currently underway and will continue through Wednesday. The outage could leave some Kentuckians without their primary source for emergency weather alerts.

“Somehow the National Weather Service and NOAA chose to do a systems upgrade that is currently going on and won’t be finished until Wednesday,” the governor said. “That means your weather radio won’t work if you have one.”

With dangerous winds, large hail, and possible tornadoes in the forecast, Beshear is urging residents to rely on alternative alert systems, such as smartphones with weather alerts enabled, and to have a shelter plan ready.

Officials also recommend keeping phones fully charged and staying weather-aware throughout the next few days.

You can download the ABC 36 Storm Team Weather App and turn on alerts for watches and warnings specific to your area.