Frequently Asked Questions

Weather Alerts

Is this service really free?

Our Weather Alerts Basic service is free of charge. Standard text message rates apply from your mobile phone's service provider. If you are unsure about whether you will be charged to receive text messages, please contact your service provider directly.

What are the current weather alerts I can receive?

We currently provide weather alerts from various weather agencies, including the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, and the Storm Prediction Center. These include:

Severe Weather

• Tornado Warning
• Severe Thunderstorm Warning
• Tornado Watch
• Severe Thunderstorm Watch
• Flash Flood Warning
• Flood Warning
• Flood Watch
• Flood/Flash Flood Statement — Premium only
• Flood Advisory — Premium only
• Hazardous Weather Outlook (e-mail only)
• Special Weather Statement — Premium only
• Severe Weather Statement— Premium only
• Local Storm Report — Premium only
• Public Severe Weather Outlook — Premium only
• Mesoscale Discussion — Premium only
• Severe Thunderstorm/Tornado Watch messages from the SPC — Premium only

General/Non-Convective Weather Events

• Air Stagnation Advisory
• Ashfall Advisory
• Blowing Dust Advisory
• Dense Fog Advisory
• Dense Smoke Advisory
• Excessive Heat Watch
• Excessive Heat Warning
• Dust Storm Warning
• Freeze Watch
• Freeze Warning
• Freezing Fog Advisory
• Frost Advisory
• Hard Freeze Warning
• Heat Advisory
• High Wind Watch
• High Wind Warning
• Lake Wind Advisory
• Wind Advisory
• Fire Weather (Red Flag) Warning — Premium only
• Fire Danger Statement (RFD) — Premium only, Experimental
• Public Information Statement — Premium only
• Record Event Report — Premium only

Forecasts

• Area Forecast Discussion — Premium only
• Short Term Forecast — Premium only
• Zone Forecast Product — Premium only

Winter Weather

• Blizzard Watch
• Blizzard Warning
• Ice Storm Warning
• Lake Effect Snow Watch
• Lake Effect Snow Warning
• Wind Chill Watch
• Wind Chill Warning
• Winter Storm Watch
• Winter Storm Warning
• Freezing Rain Advisory
• Lake Effect Snow Advisory
• Wind Chill Advisory
• Winter Weather Advisory

Tropical Weather

• Tropical Cyclone Public Advisory
• Tropical Cyclone Forecast — Premium only
• Tropical Cyclone Discussion — Premium only
• Tropical Cyclone Update
• Tropical Cyclone Upgrade Notification — Custom alert from weatherUSA, see example
• Special Tropical Weather Outlook
• Tropical Weather Outlook — Premium only
• Tropical Weather Discussion — Premium only
• Hurricane Local Statement

How many alerts can I have?

Subscribers to Weather Alerts Basic can receive alerts for one location for a number of alert types. Weather Alerts Premium subscribers can receive alerts for an unlimited amount of locations. This is important as severe weather may be occuring in nearby counties, or in areas where you may have family members or clients. Weather professionals, storm spotters, and hobbyists may also want to know of severe weather in surrounding locations.

My cell phone service provider is not in your list. What should I do?

Please contact us and we will try to add support for your service provider as soon as possible.

I signed up for an account (or changed phone numbers) and have not received my confirmation code for text messages. What should I do?

The purpose of the confirmation code is to verify that the owner of the phone would like to receive our messages, and also to verify that your phone is able to correctly receive our messages. There are several reasons why you didn't receive the confirmation code:

• The message may take a few minutes to reach your phone.
• Please double-check that your mobile number was entered correctly.
• You may have selected the wrong mobile service provider, or your service provider isn't supported by our service yet.
• You may have text messaging disabled in your mobile phone plan. Please contact your service provider for assistance.