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WeatheRadio - Enironment Canada

Written by Administrator

Tuesday, 27 November 2007 08:06

Environment Canada is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for coordinating environmental policies and programs as well as preserving and enhancing the environment and conservation of wildlife. Environment Canada is the lead department within the federal government when it comes to cleaning up hazardous waste and oil spills. The department is also responsible for meteorology as well as research and education on climate change.

Weatheradio Canada is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting weather and environmental information 24 hours a day in both official languages directly from Environment Canada's storm prediction centres.

The Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) operates the Weatheradio Canada network. The majority of these stations broadcast on the VHF band to permit the transmission of a 1050 Hz tone that will trigger a Weatheradio receiver's internal alert system. This warning tone is broadcast ahead of a warning message to activate Weatheradios upon receipt. Broadcast frequencies include 162.400, 162.425, 162.450, 162.475, 162.500, 162.525, and 162.550 MHz.

Weatheradio receivers can be purchased at retailers who specialize in electronics. The receivers come in many sizes with a variety of functions. Many models have an alert feature which will chime, beep or flash just prior to the announcement of a severe weather warning. The new Weatheradio receivers now use SAME codes instead as the trigger to activate the alarm features, and Environment Canada is converting the Weatheradio network to utilize SAME codes. By broadcasting these codes, those users who purchase a new Weatheradio will not only be able to receive the audio signal, but will receive emergency messages and the full functionality of the warning device unit, such as the ability to pre-select which warnings to receive. For users who have older Weatheradio models, these units will continue to receive the full range of weather watches, advisories and warnings as in the past. However, they will not be able to take advantage of the enhanced options offered by a Weatheradio with SAME decoding capability.

From its inception in 1977, the network has expanded to 180 sites across the country, transmitting continuous weather information on 7 dedicated frequencies on the VHF public service band. Now, fully 92% of Canadians can access a Weatheradio signal, and recent technological advances have made it possible for listeners to program radio receivers to deliver only certain types of warnings for their specific locations.

The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar celebrates its twentieth year in Canadian homes, schools, and offices. Being Canada's favourite calendar for twenty years is no mean feat, as Phillips says, "It's the most popular calendar in Canada. And there's no cleavage or cats--it's all about the weather." At the same time, he acknowledges, that "we're known as the weather people of the world, and we have a lot of tough weather in this country."

Having collected at least 25,000 weather stories during his career, Phillips should know! The calendar showcases Canada's craziest weather conditions, giving all of its readers a piece of the Phillips weather archive and leaving them wanting more.

At its inception, The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar began a wave, with similar weather trivia calendars springing up in countries as far away as Singapore and Australia. But Canadians know that few countries experience the wacky, weird, and woeful weather that we submit ourselves to in Canada. As Phillips says, "We scoff at blizzards and sneeze at frostbite." Not to mention that we are tickled by tornados, delighted by downdrafts, charmed by Chinooks. . . We complain about our weather, but we love it--and not secretly.

Always a bestseller, written with the bold humour and sound science that Canadians have come to expect from David Phillips, The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar continues to be a year-long weather adventure for all ages.

Weatheradio Yahoo Groups

Your unnofficial source for the advancement, usage and public awareness of Environment Canada's Weatheradio Network, the premium warning delivery service with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) although not officially sanctioned by Environment Canada. We welcome listeners of the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards and DXers of the NWR and Weatheradio broadcasts.

For more information, click here.

Environment Canada WeatheRadio

Environment Canada is working with Industry Canada and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) to create a single comprehensive warning service for weather and other emergency information such as evacuation messages and Amber alerts. Building on the existing Weatheradio service which uses dedicated frequencies to deliver weather information 24 hours a day, this initiative will enable the broadcast of other types of emergency messages as well.

The first step in developing this service is the introduction of Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) functionality into Environment Canada's existing broadcast network. Two sets of codes will then be embedded in broadcast alerts, one to identify the nature of the event, the other to define the affected area. The new generation of programmable Weatheradio receivers are sophisticated enough to recognize the embedded codes for specific types of events and for specific local areas while screening out messages that don't apply. Upgrading of the entire network is expected to be completed by the end of 2005, but selected transmitters will begin broadcasting coded weather bulletins this spring.

In accordance with Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) has assigned a unique 6-digit CLC (Canadian Location Code) to identify each weather forecast and warning region in the country. The first digit is always 0, the second representing the province or territory; and the last four, the individual warning region. These numeric CLC codes are a key component of SAME technology, providing the location information for all alerts.

To find your CLC code, please click here.

To see a list of event codes, presently being used, click here.

Below are CLC codes for the area surrounding the Durham Region area: