EAS Test

[twcguy_22087]

What is the normal way the EAS (Emergency Alert System) is tested in your area? I can also take requests for EAS pix for the following emergencies:
Child Abduction Emergency/AMBER Alert
Severe Thunderstorm Warning/Special/Severe Weather Statement
Tornado Watch
Tornado Warning
And, of course, the Required Weekly and Monthly Tests.

You can also post EAS test schedeules for your state.

Massachusetts schedeule for 2010:

JAN 01/05 10 AM to 12N or 1 PM to 3 PM 
FEB  02/02 12 Mid to 4 AM 
MAR  03/02 10 AM to 12N or 1 PM to 3 PM 
APR  04/06 12 Mid to 4 AM 
MAY  05/04 10 AM to 12N or 1 PM to 3 PM 
JUN  06/01 12 Mid to 4 AM 
JUL  07/06 10 AM to 12N or 1 PM to 3 PM 
AUG  08/03 12 Mid to 4 AM 
SEP  09/07 10 AM to 12N or 1 PM to 3 PM 
OCT  10/05 12 Mid to 4 AM 
NOV  11/02 10 AM to 12N or 1 PM to 3 PM 
DEC  12/07 12 Mid to 4 AM 
Here is how it is tested by the State of Massachusetts:

[TWCToday]

Ive actually on seen the tests in my area.. never an actual alert even if there is a warning

[texasstooge]

Here's the remaining schedule in Texas for 2010:

Month Date Window
August 2010 Tuesday, 8/3/10 4:45 a.m. – 6:45 a.m.
September 2010 Tuesday, 9/7/10 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
October 2010 Tuesday, 10/5/10 4:45 a.m. – 6:45 a.m.
November 2010 Tuesday, 11/9/10 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
December 2010 Tuesday, 12/7/10 4:45 a.m. – 6:45 a.m.

The 2011 schedule will be posted by the end of the year. And yes, I've seen some actual EAS activations here in DFW such as some Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and a Child Abduction Emergency back in April.

[ABC7]

How do you find the EAS test schedules?

[texasstooge]

How do you find the EAS test schedules?

Google search "Emergency Alert System (State of your residence)".

[P71nnacle]

In State College, I'm not really sure what Comcast does for around here, but I know that in Pittsburgh, at home, Tornado Warnings, Child Abduction Emergencies, and the weekly/monthly tests get the mandatory scroll.

When I interned in Evansville, IN, that was a different story. Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Watches and Warnings, CAE's, and the weekly and monthly tests all were televised.

If you go to my YouTube page, there's a bunch of vids of EAS advisories, if you enjoy watching them. (My username is RedOctober90.)

[ABC7]

I didn't find any test schedule. ;(
It sucks because I get advance notice for emergency drills at my school (I'm sensitive to loud noises and my school's administration is cool like that) but I don't get notice for when the unnecessary tests go off.

I found an interesting article about the catastrophic faults of the EAS, and I can add on to that. First, quit pretending it's the late 1970's. Redo the alert tone and change the warning screen to something modern. Also, don't do the Child Abduction Alerts if it doesn't impact my county. I doubt they will need to have the system automatically turn on televisions. People would turn to their internet or smartphone.

The Federal Government may not know this, but times are changing. TV alerts should be replaced with text-messages and web alerts. It's 2010, not 1960. It's nearly impossible not to stay connected to the media.

They've been proposing automatically turning on TV's for alerts since the EAS took over.

[P71nnacle]

AMBER Alerts are intentionally made part of the EAS because of the timeliness. A lot of it has to do with saturation of eyewitnesses. Figure that 1 out of every 100 people watching TV will be on the lookout. In a state with 10 million people, that means 100,000 extra pairs of eyes looking for the abducted child. It has nothing to do with annoyance, mostly because people generally ignore the EAS regardless.

And yea, I agree with having text and/or internet alerts. The problem is that, well, should it cut off calls in mid-chat? Should it control your computer for the time it is on? And if so, could it be abused (political and/or commercial interests? Imagine if the code leaked, and you received an ad for a Nigerian bank account while you telecommute.)