[sbe-eas] Weird NWS alert with bad FIPS?

[Aaron Read]

I contacted our local RI-EMA guy and he reached out to the NWS in Boston.
This is what we were told:

"The WHL product is a message from the National Marine Fisheries Service, a
fellow NOAA agency. We relay these messages on their behalf over NOAA All
Hazards Weather Radio for those transmitters which can reach the marine
community. These are usually regarding Right Whale Alerts, hence the WHL
product identifier. Today's instance was for a slow zone being implemented
across the coastal waters from Beverly, MA to Kennebunkport, ME from today
through December 28."

- Aaron

On Wed, Dec 14, 2022 at 3:00 PM Ken Evans <ken_evans at wmdt.com> wrote:

>
>
> Down in the Mid-Atlantic region the NWS Wakefield (AKQ) on the Salisbury
> NWR issued an event with an unknown code "FSH" for that notice and did it a
> second time this past Monday.  Our EAS box fortunately will not forward
> it.  So, no FALSE Alert was broadcast by us, or reported.  The first one
> was about 2 weeks ago, and another one went this week on Monday evening. It
> had to do with a notice from the US Fish and Wildlife to advise mariners to
> avoid a whale breeding area, or if they must go through the zone to reduce
> speed to no more than 10 miles per hour, to avoid hitting whales.  The Area
> referenced was off Atlantic City.   I looked for where online but did not
> see the area with a large warning area.  There were some marking near the
> mouths of the Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay.  I guess the used "WHL" for
> Whale in your area.  Our alert referenced every marine area and FIPS from
> Sussex in Delaware, to both Maryland coastal counties along the Atlantic
> and Chesapeake Bay down into Virginia within range for the Salisbury NWR
> transmitter.  By the way, the internet site I saw said the mating season
> lasts until sometime in April.  I hope we do not have to see it repeated
> until then.
>
> I contacted our Maryland NWS SECC representative about it and he said it
> was not supposed to be done as EAS.  He said it was intended as an
> announcement and should not be run as EAS.
>
> Ken Evans
> ------------------------------
> *From:* sbe-eas <sbe-eas-bounces at sbe.org> on behalf of Aaron Read <
> readaaron at friedbagels.com>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, December 14, 2022 2:03 PM
> *To:* SBE EAS Exchange - a mail list for discussion about the Emergency
> Alert System and other emergency communication issues. <sbe-eas at sbe.org>
> *Subject:* [sbe-eas] Weird NWS alert with bad FIPS?
>
> Did anyone else get a weird NWS alert with bad FIPS?  Below is from my
> Sage 3644 at WPVD in Providence RI but I know at least one other station
> got it too - presumably everyone monitoring the WX on Neutaconkanut Hill
> (which is the WX for all of RI) got it, and our State EAS Plan does mandate
> monitoring it.   I'm curious if this happened outside of RI, though.   Note
> several of those FIPS are for locations nowhere near New England.
>
> - Aaron
>
> 12/14/22 13:16:01
> Unknown Event, Matched filter OTHERS, Received on Monitor 3. Log Only.
> The National Weather Service has issued an Unknown Event (WHL) for 73256,
> Buzzards Bay, Coastal waters from Nantucket MA to Marthas Vineyard MA to
> Block Island RI to Montauk NY Southeast to 20 nm, Vineyard Sound,
> Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound, 73273, 73805, Bristol, RI, 73810, all
> of Rhode Island, Block Island Sound, Kent, RI, 73900, 73800, Newport, RI,
> all of Massachusetts, Providence, RI, Washington, RI, and Bristol, MA
> beginning at 1:13 pm and ending at 7:13 pm (KBOX/NWS)
>
> ZCZC-WXR-WHL-073256-073234-073255-073233-073236-073235-073273-073805-044001-073810-044000-073237-044003-073900-073800-044005-025000-044007-044009-025005+0600-3481813-KBOX/NWS-
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------
> Aaron Read
> readaaron at friedbagels.com
> www.friedbagels.com
> "Engineering: it's like math but LOUDER!"
>
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>


-- 
------------------------------------------
Aaron Read
readaaron at friedbagels.com
www.friedbagels.com
"Engineering: it's like math but LOUDER!"
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