EATONTON, Ga. — The Eatonton National Weather Service radio station is out of service ahead of upcoming severe weather expected to move through Central Georgia Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
This critical means of communication is often how many people keep up to date about severe weather in their area, and it also provides weather updates to other counties like Jasper, Baldwin, Jones and Morgan counties. The Eatonton frequency can also be reached in parts of Butts, Monroe, Bibb, Wilkinson and Washington Counties as well.
Steven Nelson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, confirmed the transmitter was down, but he emphasized that there are many other avenues for receiving severe weather updates.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, who also serves as the EMA Director for Putnam County, agrees. Even with the radio transmitter down, he thinks there are enough fail-safes to keep yourself weather-aware.
"I think the other stations in close proximity to us will give us adequate warning," Sills says.
Nelson says the outage only applies to the transmitter in Eatonton. He says people who rely on the Eatonton broadcast can tune into the Sandersville broadcast at 162.450.
There is also the Macon transmitter available at 162.475, according to the National Weather Service website.
"That weather station being down is not crucial to warning," Sills said. "I'm not saying it is immaterial, but what is critical during tornados is radar."
If you still are unable to get access to the weather radio updates, Sills and Nelson point to the multitude of other avenues offering severe weather updates.
To stay weather aware, Sills says you should lean into local television stations like WMAZ as we follow the severe weather threat as it moves through our area. 13WMAZ meteorologists will be tracking the severe weather overnight and into the morning.
The National Weather Service Office in Peachtree City — which also monitors severe weather in Central Georgia — also offers other avenues of communication.
Like Sills, Nelson outlined several fail-safes such as the severe weather alerts on smartphones and the National Weather Services social media channels like Facebook and X.
While you can opt out of severe weather alerts, it is encouraged to have your alerts on because outside sirens aren't designed to wake you up or break through the walls of your house, which makes having other methods of communication available important.
Nelson also says there are many free apps that will give you weather updates, too. That also includes the 13WMAZ app which is available on the Android and Apple app stores.
But for individuals with limited access to the internet, the National Weather Service's Peachtree City phone line, 770-486-1133, can also offer severe weather updates. If you listen to the options, you can get updated on hazardous weather conditions.
13WMAZ will be continuing to provide updates online and on-air as the system moves into our area. The National Storm Prediction Center has placed much of Central Georgia in either Level 2 or Level 3 out of 5.
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