GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — As we head into severe weather season, make sure you are prepared with important information and messages from the National Weather Services going straight to your phone.
NWS and other agencies send out alerts to cellphones to notify the public when “a tornado, flash flooding, evacuation order or other immediate emergency is happening.”
These messages are sent by authorized government agencies to cellphones in a certain radius of the emergency. This means if you’re not in your home town and are across the country, you’ll receive messages for where you are.
iPhones
To set up an iPhone with the alerts, follow the steps below.
- Go to your “Settings” app.
- Tap “Notifications.”
- Scroll to the bottom of the page to “Government Alerts.”
- Turn “AMBER Alerts” on.
- Select “Emergency Alerts.”
- Turn “Emergency Alerts” and “Always Play Sound” on.
- Go back and turn “Public Safety Alerts” on.
Step 1: Go to the “Settings” app 
Step 2: Tap “Notifications” and scroll to the bottom of the page to “Government Alerts” 
Step 3: Turn “AMBER Alerts” on 
Step 4: Select “Emergency Alerts” and turn on “Emergency Alerts” and “Always Play Sound” (“Always Play Sound” appears once “Emergency Alerts” is on) 
Step 5: Go back and turn “Public Safety Alerts” on
Android
To set up an Android with the alerts, follow the steps below.
- Go to the “Settings” app.
- Go to “Notifications.”
- Select “Advanced Settings.”
- Choose “Wireless emergency alerts.”
- Toggle on “Allow Alerts.”
- Turn on all the alert options below.
Once the alert settings have been turned on, your phone will make a loud tone to alert you whenever a message has been sent.
For more information on the National Weather Service alerts, click here.
