Alert: This is only one test

Do you have a mobile phone? Expect a text just before noon Wednesday.

A test of the National Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the Wireless Emergency Alert System (WEA) in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

There may be a lot of OMG in response to the planned EAS / WEA alert, which is due out at 23:18. PDT.

The WEA portion of the test begins at 11:18 and the EAS portion follows at 11:20. The test will assess the state of readiness of the infrastructure for the dissemination of a national message and will determine if improvements are needed.

The WEA test message will be sent to cell phones connected to wireless service providers participating in WEA. It is the fourth EAS national test and the first WEA national test. Previous national EAS testing was conducted in November 2011, September 2016, and September 2017 in collaboration with the FCC, broadcasters, and emergency management officials, in recognition of the national month of preparation of FEMA.

The cell towers will broadcast the WEA test for about 30 minutes starting at 11:18 am. WEA-enabled phones that are turned on are within range of an active cell tower and the wireless service provider participating in WEA should be able to receive the test message. Some cell phones will not receive the test message and should receive the message only once. The WEA test message will have a header that reads "Presidential Alert" and a text that says:

"THIS IS A TEST of the national wireless emergency alert system. No action is necessary. "

The WEA system is used to warn the public of dangerous weather conditions, missing children and other critical situations by means of alerts on mobile phones. The national test will use the same tone and vibration as all WEA messages (Tornado warning, AMBER alert). Users can not refuse to receive the WEA test.

The SAE is a national public alert system that should last about a minute. The test message will be similar to regular monthly EAS test messages to which the public is accustomed. The EAS message will include a reference to the WEA test:

"THIS IS A TEST of the national emergency alert system. … If this had been a real emergency, an official message would have followed the tone you heard at the beginning of this message. … No action is required. "

The test was originally scheduled for September 20, but was postponed until October 3, due to ongoing response efforts at Hurricane Florence.