The statewide tornado test did not go smoothly Tuesday morning, and some sort of coding issue was the reason why.
The problem came with the alerts sent out to cell phones through the National Weather Service, although the agency says the issue is not with what it sent out to the public. Warning Coordination Meteorologist Chad Omitt says this year had something new in the process — unbeknownst to the Weather Service until it happened.
When the original test message was pushed through the WEA system, the word “test” was removed. The Weather Service says the message was misinterpreted as an actual warning.
Omitt says the new code for a Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Handler, which was implemented last week, mistakenly allowed the test to go out over WEA as an actual warning, however, the issue has since been resolved. KVOE News has reached out to FEMA for comment.
Omitt says the Weather Service has used the same message with the same computer coding since 2009 without any prior issues. The WEA system, meanwhile, has been in place for almost a decade.
The alert was one of the key components of the National Weather Service’s Severe Weather Awareness Week efforts across Kansas, with tornado preparedness the focal point Tuesday. Lightning safety is the main focal point Wednesday, followed by hail and wind safety Thursday and flood safety Friday.
Photos courtesy National Weather Service Wichita office
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Photo courtesy National Weather Service Topeka office
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