The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on Wednesday, October 4. The national test will consist of two portions, testing both WEA and EAS capabilities, both scheduled to begin 1:20 p.m. CT. The EAS portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions, while the WEA test will be directed to all consumer cell phones—which will display in either English or Spanish, depending on your language settings.
The purpose of the nationwide test is to ensure that systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about national emergencies. If Wednesday’s test Is postponed due to severe weather or significant events, the back-up testing date is the following Wednesday, October 11.