[EAS] FW: AR, MO, KS Tornado alert that wasn't

[Randall Miller]

I have another one for you:

On February 25 (last Thursday) the ENTIRE state of Oregon was apparently at risk of an avalanche!
The "AVW" (Avalanche Warning) was encoded for six northern Oregon counties and four southern Washington state counties, but they also snuck the "entire Oregon" code in there, so it was distributed statewide via the analog state relay network. Doesn't appear to have come through IPAWS/CAP.
We managed to stop the operator on duty at the time it came down from running it, but it was encoded for six hours, and the next operator (following a shift change) failed to follow protocol and pushed it to air!
My new protocol: log-in and delete messages like this from the cue!

It indicated it was from a civil authority, but I haven't seen an explanation from anyone, yet.

Randall Miller
KOBI-TV Engineering
Medford, Oregon
(541)779-5555 | rmiller at kobi5.com

From: EAS <eas-bounces at radiolists.net> On Behalf Of Barry Mishkind

It would appear someone at the NWS issued a "test" this morning that was essentially a live WEA alert. This newspaper report notes that cell phones rang ... Not certain about EAS at this moment.