12
GETTING STARTED
UNDERSTANDING THE FIPS
CODE
The NWS divides the United States by state and
county (or parish, where applicable), then assigns a
6-digit “FIPS” (Federal Information Processing Sys-
tem) code to identify each county/parish for the pur-
pose of broadcasting weather conditions. For
example, the code for Tarrant County, Texas, is
048439.
The first digit in a FIPS
code identifies the coun-
ty subdivision, the next
two digits identify the
state, and the last three
digits identify the county
itself. For example:
Note:
Most FIPS codes begin with 0, which means
that FIPS code represents an entire county. The
NWS, however, eventually plans to subdivide some
large counties. When that happens, each subdivision
will be assigned a digit from 1–9, resulting in codes
such as 148439, 248439, and so on.
Your Weatheradio is preset to receive all SAME alert
signals broadcast within about a 50-mile radius of
where you installed it. To receive SAME alerts and
broadcasts about weather occurring only in particular
counties within that area, you can program up to 15
048439
State
County Subdivision
County
12-249.fm Page 12 Tuesday, July 6, 1999 4:00 PM
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