appendix f
APPENDIX F - FIPS
CODES FOR NWR-SAME INPUT
The Federal Emergency
Management Agency divides the United States by state and county (or parish where
applicable), then assigns a 6-digit "FIPS" (Federal Information Processing
System) code to identify each county/parish. The National Weather Service NOAA
Weather Radio uses the FIPS codes for the purpose of broadcasting weather and
hazards information through the Emergency Alert System.
When you purchase
special NOAA Weather Radios which have the capability to alert only for a specific
county known as "Specific Area Message Encoding" you must have a FIPS
code for the county.
Instructions
for your radio receiver should also include a listing of FIPS codes.
Understanding the
FIPS Code
The first digit
in a FIPS code identifies the county subdivision, the next two digits identify
the state, and the last three digits identify the county itself. For example:
016045. 0 is the County Subdivision, 16 is the State of Idaho code and 045 is
the Gem County code.
Most FIPS codes
begin with 0, which means that FIPS code represents an entire county. The NWS,
however, may subdivide some larger counties. When that happens, each subdivision
will be assigned a digit from 1-9 resulting in codes such as 116073, 216073
and so on. If you have questions whether a county has been subdivided, please
contact the nearest NWS office for guidance.
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