NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you noticed your weather radio didn't go off during Wednesday night's severe weather, you aren't the only one. The transmission antennae in Downtown Nashville was offline.
The good news is the service has now been restored, but not without frustrations for the National Weather Service team.
"It’s just one of those very frustrating things because NOAA weather radio is one of those things we rely on heavily," said Krissy Hurley, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
Almost immediately after the antennae went offline midday Wednesday, NWS sent out a team to the William Snodgrass Tennessee Tower to see if their transmitter situated at the top of the building could be easily fixed.
"They realized it was not in their realm of knowledge on how to fix it nor had the equipment, so we had to dispatch a technician all the way from Little Rock, Arkansas," Hurley said.
That technician discovered Thursday afternoon that a faulty cable was to blame, and it was replaced, restoring the radio transmissions.
"Sometimes we are not immune to things happening, such as weather damage or a cable being cut," said Hurley.
This isn't the first time Middle Tennessee has had weather radio issues. Last March, there were issues at three different transmitter sites. After replacing faulty phone lines, transmissions were quickly restored in all affected areas. However, Hurley says the recent issues highlight a need to always have multiple ways to get weather alerts.
"There’s wireless emergency alerts. These alerts come to your cell phone as long as you don’t have it off or don’t have it on Do Not Disturb, and they will alert you when there’s a tornado warning or extreme flash flood warning for your area," she said.
Hurley adds, your weather radio may be able to pick up transmissions from other nearby antennas as well.
"You just have to scan through your weather radio to see which channel comes in best," said Hurley.
Weather apps on your phone, like NewsChannel 5's Storm Shield, can also be an effective way to stay weather aware.
