Nationwide warning system test set for Wednesday

There will be a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert and Wireless Emergency Alert systems on Wednesday that will send messages to your phone, as well as over the radio and on television.

The tests will happen at about 2:20 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. The alerts will include a unique tone and vibration. You will receive a message on your phone saying “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” There will also be a Spanish language version of the message for phone set to that language. All wireless phones should receive the message only once.

The wireless alerts are sent by authorized federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government agencies to wireless providers which deliver the alerts top phone in geo-targeted areas.

The Emergency Alert System portion of the test will be the seventh nationwide EAS test.

The purpose of the test is to ensure that the systems are available to warn the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level. In case the Wednesday test is postponed due to widespread severe weather or other significant events, the back-up testing date is Oct. 11.