REGINA – Up-to-date weather information is now available through two new Weatheradio Canada broadcast centres in Saskatchewan.
Broadcasts from Lanigan and Elbow/Birsay have been added to nine others in the province, which are part of the 100-station national network operated by Environment Canada.
Weather information is continuously transmitted over the VHF-FM band and is picked up on receivers available from radio equipment suppliers. The information is not available on AM/FM radios.
Sylvie Bergeron, marketing co-ordinator for Environment Canada in Saskatoon, said the service is used by farmers, emergency organizations, police and others who depend on current weather information.
Read Also
Storm dynamics and extreme rainfall
Besides moisture, instability and orographic lift, the next biggest factor that contributes to heavy or extreme rainfall is storm dynamics.
“It gives the most up-to-date weather watches and warnings, the current forecasts, the hourly reports, the UV Index, some statistics and other environmental information,” she said.
The cycle of information is usually four to six minutes long and is updated and repeated regularly 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Some receivers are also equipped with an ALERT feature, which is automatically activated when a warning of severe weather is issued for an area. These receivers emit a loud, continuous tone and/or flashing light to alert listeners.
Bergeron said the decision to expand Saskatchewan’s sites was made due to increasing demand for the service.
Equipment funding
Environment Canada and three local partners are involved in the Elbow/Birsay repeater station. The equipment is installed on the Sask Wheat Pool elevator at Birsay, with the Lake Diefenbaker Yacht Club funding half the cost of the equipment and the Village of Elbow paying the yearly licensing fees.
The broadcast originates in Swift Current and is repeated from Birsay to cover an area within a 40-kilometre radius of Elbow, including the easternmost part of Lake Diefenbaker.
The Lanigan transmitter broadcasts from the local SaskTel tower, as do most other transmitters. The broadcast reaches an area including Humboldt, Watson, Wynyard, Raymore, Govan, Imperial, Watrous, Viscount and Bruno.
Weatheradio can be picked up on three frequencies in Saskatchewan: 162.400 MHz for Prince Albert, Stranraer, Midale, Lanigan and Regina Beach; 162.475 MHz for North Battleford and Elbow/Birsay repeater; and 162.550 MHz for Regina, Saskatoon, Swift Current and Yorkton.
