National alert test to be aired Wednesday

A nationwide alert test will be conducted Wednesday afternoon for every TV, radio and celllphone in the country.

The jarring electronic warning tone of an emergency alert will sound on the electronic devices at 1:20 p.m. central time as the Nationwide Emergency Alert Test is conducted.

The national test consists of two parts, which occur in conjunction with one another, in order to test the Emergency Alert System and the Wireless Emergency Alerts, according to FEMA.

The WEA will be directed to all cell phones, while the EAS will notify all radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers and wireline video providers.

All across the United States, broadcast TV shows and radio will be interrupted as the emergency message goes out. That message will say: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”

The test is scheduled to last approximately one minute and only go out once. There will be no repeats.

Only cell phones that are turned on will receive the message. If your phone is on but the sound and vibration features are turned off, you’ll still get the message.

If your phone is set to WiFi or airplane mode, it won’t receive the alert because the message goes out over the cellular broadcast system.

The type of noise and general volume of the alert is similar to that of an Amber Alert or warnings issued by the National Weather Service in case of severe weather.

The WEA alert, which will be sent out to all cellular devices, will be accompanied by a unique tone and vibration to make sure that the alerts will be available to the public, including people with disabilities, according to FEMA.