 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Federal Government of the United States |
| Headquarters | 3401 Northern Cross Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76137 32°50′5.647″N97°17′55.323″W / 32.83490194°N 97.29870083°W /32.83490194; -97.29870083 |
| Parent agency | National Weather Service |
| Website | www |
TheNational Weather Service Fort Worth, Texas (NWS Fort Worth) is a local weather forecast office of theNational Weather Service responsible for monitoring weather conditions for 46 counties in north centralTexas, including theDallas-Fort Worth Metro Area (the Metroplex) andWaco, Texas.[1]
The current National Weather Service Fort Worth is located at 3401 Northern Cross Blvd, Fort Worth, TX in the northeastern part of Fort Worth, nearMeacham International Airport, and is in charge of issuing local forecasts and weather warnings for north central Texas.[1] It is one of 13 National Weather Service offices located in Texas.[1]
The building that the Fort Worth office is located in also houses the West Gulf River Forecast Center, one of 13 in the United States. This office is responsible for the entire river basin between theSabine River along theTexas-Louisiana border in the east to theRio Grande River in southernColorado,New Mexico, and south Texas.[2] Other rivers in the responsibility area of the WGRFC include thePecos,Nueces,San Antonio River,Guadalupe,Colorado,Brazos,Trinity, andNeches rivers.[3]
The Fort Worth Weather Forecast Office maintains thirteenNOAA Weather Radio transmitters across north Texas and far south Oklahoma to transmit routine extended and specialized short-term forecasts, current weather observations, hazardous weather outlooks and historical weather information. Each of the transmitters, through theEmergency Alert System, also disseminate watches, warnings and advisories issued by the NWS office, severe thunderstorm and tornado watches issued by the Storm Prediction Center and other emergency information to the public.[4]
The office schedules a required weekly test of theSpecific Area Message Encoding system for public alert dissemination on all thirteen NOAA Weather Radio transmitters in the region each Wednesday between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. and between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. (all times Central); exceptions exist if there is a threat of severe weather that day within the listening area of any or all of the stations, in which case the test will be postponed until the following Wednesday, barring that severe weather is not forecast to occur then.[4]
Since early 2009, all NOAA Weather Radio Stations within the North Texas region began airing a monthly 15 minute talk show titled "The Lightning Bolt" where two to five listener-submitted questions related to weather are answered by meteorologists, who also would provide weather-related safety tips and trivia.[5]