Powerful storms struck Warren County on June 30, downing trees and power lines and closing roads. (photos by Rich Maxwell for the Warren Reporter)
If storms didn't wake you up last night, your phone probably did. Here's why
The yellow boxes indicate where flash flood warnings were issued in New Jersey early this morning.
July 01, 2015 at 12:13 PM, updated July 01, 2015 at 4:05 PM
A line of thunderstorms pushed through New Jersey early Wednesday
morning. Well over half the state's population is likely well aware of
that, but not because of thunder and lightning.
Multiple flash flood warnings were issued between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., triggering the federal governments Wireless Emergency Alert System, perhaps for the first time for some people. The WEA system is automatically programmed on most smart phones, and pushes out alerts when imminent threats to life or property occur in the form of a text-like message accompanied by what the Federal Communication Commission describes as "special tone and vibration, both repeated twice."
That "special tone" had many convinced people their home was under attack as they slumbered last night.
Law enforcement will use it to issue Amber Alerts or other emergency information, like evacuation orders. The President can issue statements during national emergencies through the service. And, as was the case last night, the National Weather Service can issue the alerts during flash floods and tornados.
Why? This is how the National Weather Service puts it:
"Imagine this: You're driving down the highway, humming along to your favorite tunes, when the cell phone stowed in your bag suddenly makes a strange noise. To investigate, you take the next exit and safely pull over to check the screen. Good thing you did: Your phone just alerted you to a tornado a few miles away in same county you're driving through."
The service is designed with good intentions -- flash floods and tornados are two of the most dangerous, spontaneous and highly-localized weather events the United States faces and people aren't always parked directly in front of a television or radio to hear about them.
Unfortunately, the system is also standardized and automated. So while a flash flood is not likely to float your bed down the road at 4 a.m., the alert is issued just the same.
The toggle for emergency alerts on most smart phones is located in the notification menu in the settings section of the device.
On iPhones, for example, a user can go to notifications and find two switches at the very bottom of the screen, one for Amber alerts and one for emergency alerts. Changing the switch will disable the alerts on your phone -- all except one.
Presidential alerts cannot be disabled. If President Barack Obama decides there is a need to alert you to something at 3 a.m., you will receive the alert no matter what. Though one would imagine if the President decides to text America in the middle of the night, you'll probably want to know about it.
Federal officials urge people to keep the alerts on, with good reason. While a situation like last night may be a minor inconvenience, a flash flood or tornado alert could be life-saving down the road.
Different mobile carriers and devices may also have different settings to limit or silence the alerts. More information on the WEA program can be found here.
Stephen Stirling may be reached at sstirling@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @sstirling. Find him on Facebook.
Multiple flash flood warnings were issued between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., triggering the federal governments Wireless Emergency Alert System, perhaps for the first time for some people. The WEA system is automatically programmed on most smart phones, and pushes out alerts when imminent threats to life or property occur in the form of a text-like message accompanied by what the Federal Communication Commission describes as "special tone and vibration, both repeated twice."
That "special tone" had many convinced people their home was under attack as they slumbered last night.
I'd like to thank the "flash flood warning" alert for waking me up at 4AM making me think there's a nuclear war in my bedroom
— Sabrina ღ (@sabrina_sergio) July 1, 2015
Flash flood warning woke me up at 5 AM and in my daze I must have shut off my alarm. Woke up late. Needless to say, miserable.
— Erik Smith (@thoughtxriot) July 1, 2015
Shoutout to my phone for waking me up & alerting me about a flash flood WARNING . 😐😑😕
— Scarlett Lov (@HunnieL0ve) July 1, 2015
Why do I get these alerts?
WEA alerts are chiefly designed to warn people of imminent threats or other information wherever they are.Law enforcement will use it to issue Amber Alerts or other emergency information, like evacuation orders. The President can issue statements during national emergencies through the service. And, as was the case last night, the National Weather Service can issue the alerts during flash floods and tornados.
Why? This is how the National Weather Service puts it:
"Imagine this: You're driving down the highway, humming along to your favorite tunes, when the cell phone stowed in your bag suddenly makes a strange noise. To investigate, you take the next exit and safely pull over to check the screen. Good thing you did: Your phone just alerted you to a tornado a few miles away in same county you're driving through."
The service is designed with good intentions -- flash floods and tornados are two of the most dangerous, spontaneous and highly-localized weather events the United States faces and people aren't always parked directly in front of a television or radio to hear about them.
Unfortunately, the system is also standardized and automated. So while a flash flood is not likely to float your bed down the road at 4 a.m., the alert is issued just the same.
Can I turn them off?
Yes, for the most part anyway.The toggle for emergency alerts on most smart phones is located in the notification menu in the settings section of the device.
On iPhones, for example, a user can go to notifications and find two switches at the very bottom of the screen, one for Amber alerts and one for emergency alerts. Changing the switch will disable the alerts on your phone -- all except one.
Presidential alerts cannot be disabled. If President Barack Obama decides there is a need to alert you to something at 3 a.m., you will receive the alert no matter what. Though one would imagine if the President decides to text America in the middle of the night, you'll probably want to know about it.
Federal officials urge people to keep the alerts on, with good reason. While a situation like last night may be a minor inconvenience, a flash flood or tornado alert could be life-saving down the road.
Different mobile carriers and devices may also have different settings to limit or silence the alerts. More information on the WEA program can be found here.
Stephen Stirling may be reached at sstirling@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @sstirling. Find him on Facebook.