The virtual weather radio on WarnUS is capable of sounding audible alerts if statements, watches, or warnings are issued for a specific county. While this feature is often beneficial, there will inevitably be some degree of lag time (usually 1-2 minutes) between alert issuance and alert reception. An actual NOAA Weather Radio is the fastest and most reliable means of receiving watches, warnings, and advisories on a county by county basis. In most cases, use of WarnUS's virtual weather radio will result in timely notification of imminent dangerous weather conditions. However, the aforementioned lag time may result in delayed reception of critical warning information. The virtual weather radio is not intended to be used as the sole source of warning information, but is available if no other means of receiving alerts are readily accessible.


• When using the virtual weather radio...

      - Check to make sure that your county is entered correctly (i.e., no typos, no foreign characters, use "St." instead of "St" for "St. Louis County"). For counties that contain an apostrophe, do not include an apostrophe when typing in the county name (unless it is O'Brien County, Iowa).
      - Make sure you're either retrieving national warning data or the warning data issued by your local National Weather Service Forecast Office. For example, if you live in Cook County, Illinois and you're only receiving warning data from the Milwaukee Forecast office, chances are you're not going to receive proper notification. If you're relying on the virtual radio as a warning source and you're not sure what your local forecast office is, it would be best to receive warning data nationally.
      - CHECK TO MAKE SURE THE SOUND TO YOUR COMPUTER IS ON. The sound functionality HAS NOT BEEN TESTED ON SMARTPHONES OR OTHER DEVICES.
      - THE SITE WINDOW MUST REMAIN OPEN FOR THE RADIO TO SOUND ITS ALARM.
      - MAKE SURE YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION WON'T BE INTERRUPTED IF YOUR DEVICE SLEEPS