S.A.M.E. County Code Setup Guide: Program Your Weather Radio in 10 Minutes

What S.A.M.E. Actually Is

S.A.M.E. stands for Specific Area Message Encoding. It's a digital header the National Weather Service prepends to every alert broadcast over NOAA Weather Radio. The header encodes which counties the alert affects, what type of alert it is, when it was issued, and when it expires. Your receiver reads the header, compares it to your programmed codes, and decides whether to alert.

Without S.A.M.E., a weather radio in Pennsylvania would alarm when NOAA broadcasts a rip-current advisory for the New Jersey shore, because both counties share transmitter coverage. With S.A.M.E. programming, you only hear alerts for the specific codes you entered.

Step 1: Look Up Your FIPS Code

The National Weather Service maintains the official S.A.M.E. code list at weather.gov/nwr/counties. Select your state, then find your county. The code you want is the 6-digit number in the "SAME Code" column, which always starts with 0.

Examples:

• Harris County, Texas: 048201
• Cook County, Illinois: 017031
• Miami-Dade County, Florida: 012086
• Oklahoma County, Oklahoma: 040109
• Los Angeles County, California: 006037

Pay attention: FIPS codes are not the same as ZIP codes or area codes. Use the official NWS list, not a third-party lookup.

Step 2: Find Your Strongest NOAA Channel

NOAA broadcasts on seven frequencies. Your radio only listens to one at a time. Before programming S.A.M.E. codes, scan to find the strongest transmitter in your area:

On the WR400: press WEATHER, then MENU → "Weather Scan." On the ER310: hold WX to cycle through channels. Choose the one with the clearest voice and strongest signal. You can also look up your local transmitter's frequency at weather.gov/nwr.

Step 3a: Programming the Midland WR400

1. Press MENU until the display shows 1. SAME SET
2. Press SELECT, then use the UP/DOWN arrows to choose SINGLE (one county) or MULTIPLE (up to 25)
3. Press SELECT. The cursor appears at the first digit of the code
4. Use UP/DOWN to set each digit, SELECT to advance
5. After the sixth digit, press SELECT to save
6. For additional counties, repeat using location slots 2 through 25
7. Return to main menu and confirm the display shows SAME to indicate programming is active

Full Midland WR400 details and alarm testing are in our Midland WR400 review.

Step 3b: Programming the Midland ER310

1. Hold MENU for 2 seconds until the menu opens
2. Navigate to SAME using the +/− buttons
3. Press SELECT. Use +/− to enter each digit of your FIPS code
4. Press and hold SELECT to save
5. The radio returns to weather standby; the SAME indicator should appear on the display
6. To add a second county, return to the SAME menu and choose the next slot

Full ER310 specs, crank performance, and field-test notes are in our Midland ER310 review.

Step 4: Choose Your Event Codes

S.A.M.E. event codes tell your radio which alert types should trigger the alarm. Most radios default to "all events enabled," which is why they seem to alarm constantly. Turn off what you don't need.

Essential event codes (enable everywhere)

• TOR — Tornado Warning
• SVR — Severe Thunderstorm Warning
• FFW — Flash Flood Warning
• CEM — Civil Emergency Message
• EVI — Evacuation Immediate
• EAN — Emergency Action Notification

Tornado alley (add these)

• TOW — Tornado Watch
• SVA — Severe Thunderstorm Watch
• FFA — Flash Flood Watch

See our tornado alley weather radio guide for region-specific recommendations.

Hurricane coast (add these)

• HUW — Hurricane Warning
• HUA — Hurricane Watch
• TRW — Tropical Storm Warning
• TRA — Tropical Storm Watch
• SSW — Storm Surge Warning
• SSA — Storm Surge Watch

See our hurricane coast weather radio guide.

Winter weather (add these in cold climates)

• BZW — Blizzard Warning
• WSW — Winter Storm Warning
• ISW — Ice Storm Warning

Disable these (for most households)

• RWT — Required Weekly Test (optional; Wednesday morning tone)
• DMO — Practice/Demo Warning
• ADR — Administrative Message

Step 5: Test Your Setup

NOAA broadcasts a Required Weekly Test (RWT) most Wednesdays between 11 AM and 1 PM local time. If you left RWT enabled, you'll hear it fire. If you disabled it, you can still watch the LED flash and the display change state during the test—proof that your programming is active and the radio is receiving the transmitter.

You can also force a test manually on most radios. On the WR400, press WEATHER once to hear the current broadcast; if you hear the automated voice clearly, your radio is locked onto a strong signal.

Troubleshooting

• Radio stays silent during known alerts: Verify the FIPS code is correct (double-check on weather.gov). Confirm the relevant event code is enabled.
• Alarms for alerts that don't affect you: You're probably programmed for a neighboring county you don't want. Review all 25 slots.
• Weak or no signal: Try all 7 channels. Move the radio closer to a window. Extend the antenna fully. Check local transmitter outages at weather.gov/nwr.
• Constant alerts with RWT disabled: You may have ADR (administrative) enabled—disable it.

Completing Your Emergency Setup

A programmed weather radio is step one. A complete emergency communication setup adds power backup and, where feasible, a scanner:

• Power backup: Weather radio + battery + solar bundle for multi-day outages
• Regional guides: Tornado alley and hurricane coast
• Portable option: Midland ER310 with crank and solar
• Scanner layer: Emergency weather scanner guide for areas where fire and EMS are still unencrypted

Frequently Asked Questions