NOUS43 KDMX 262031
PNSDMX
IAZ075-084>086-095>097-272045-

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Des Moines IA
231 PM CST Tue Nov 26 2024

...NOAA Weather Radio Enhancements for Lake Rathbun and Ottumwa 
Transmitters...

On or before December 6th, the National Weather Service (NWS) in 
Des Moines will be making several enhancements to the NOAA Weather
Radio (NWR) broadcasts at the Lake Rathbun and Ottumwa 
transmitters in southern Iowa. Changes for these enhancements 
include:

Separated Programming - programming will be separated on the Lake
Rathbun and Ottumwa transmitters, making broadcast cycles shorter
and more geographically targeted. Previously, technology
limitations required broadcasts at Lake Rathbun and Ottumwa to be
combined and mirrored.

Reliability - broadcast audio relayed from NWS Des Moines to the 
NWR in Ottumwa will change from dedicated copper phone lines to 
cellular. This will provide better reliability of broadcast 
uptime.

County-Level Alerting Changes - Separated programming at the Lake
Rathbun and Ottumwa transmitters will result in refinement of
Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) county-based alerting.
Alerts for the Ottumwa NWR will now include the following 
counties: Davis, Keokuk, Mahaska, Monroe, and Wapello (Davis, 
Mahaska, and Monroe Counties added due to adequate coverage). 
Alerts for the Lake Rathbun NWR will include the following 
counties: Appanoose, Davis, Lucas, Monroe, Wapello, and Wayne 
(removal of Keokuk and Mahaska due to inability to receive the 
broadcast).

IMPORTANT - no actions are necessary for NWR users in this area.
County codes remain unchanged thus alerting will not be impacted.

For more information, please contact:

Chad Hahn
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
National Weather Service Des Moines
chad.hahn@noaa.gov

$$