Two states that could not participate in a regional EAS test in February due to severe weather will get another opportunity.
On Wednesday, June 22 at 10:02 a.m., a makeup National Periodic Test will be sent by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to North Carolina and Virginia, which have chosen to participate in this test. (In case of yet another round of actual severe weather, the makeup date for this test is Thursday, June 23 at 10:02 a.m.)
The test in February was supposed to encompass 22 states, two territories and the District of Columbia, but due to weather warnings, six dropped out late: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia. It has been reported that tornado warnings were issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for portions of Virginia within minutes of the scheduled EAS test. Alabama retested in March.
The makeup June 22 NPT will run and sound like a traditional Required Monthly Test (RMT), which includes EAS tones and a relay requirement. This test requires stations to configure their EAS devices to immediately forward an NPT message and to recognize the new all-U.S. geocode, a series of six zeros. (On Jan. 1, 2016, FEMA began using the new “000000” geocode to ensure that emergency notifications are compatible with both currently used EAS device settings and EAS devices configured to be compliant with the new Part 11 rules. Those rules, which detail the FCC’s EAS requirements, go into effect on July 30.)
Next week’s test message will be sent to these two geocodes: all of North Carolina (037000) and all of Virginia (051000).
The next nationwide EAS test is scheduled for Sept. 28, 2016, and will use the all-U.S. code of 000000. The makeup date for that test, if needed, will be Oct. 5.
Related:
Western, North Central Regional EAS Test Hits Its Mark
