Severe Winter Storm Tests Cellphone Alert System

The winter storm that's hit the Northeastern U.S., dubbed "Nemo" by the Weather Channel, is testing first responders and emergency preparedness, but it's also testing the a newly implemented system to alert wireless subscribers of emergencies via their cellphones.

Several Verizon customers in the New York City area — including Mashable staff members — received an alert about the storm on Thursday. Some T-Mobile and Sprint customers got the alert, too. Sent via text message, the alerts are part of the new Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system, a National Weather Service initiative that went into action in mid 2012.

While many got the alert, the goal of WEA system is to send alerts to as many wireless subscribers in a given area as possible. That clearly didn't happen, as most, if not all AT&T customers in the Tri-State area appear to have been left out of the Nemo alerts.

On Verizon iPhones, the alert appeared like this:

All four major carriers signed up to issue WEAs to their subscribers, but each carrier decides which phones to support with the system, and that's a subset of phones that are capable in the first place (Verizon offers a comprehensive list). The iPhone 5, for example, can receive WEAs, but only if it's running iOS 6 or later. Several Samsung phones are supported as well.

It appears the carriers sent out alerts, but the number of compatible device on some is so few that it made little difference. Many AT&T customers, for example, took to Twitter to express their disdain about not receiving one. Here's a typical tweet:

I didn't get an emergency alert about the storm. Why doesn't AT&T care if I live? Oh right, I still have an unlimited plan.

— Bridget Carey (@BridgetCarey) February 7, 2013

However, the following tweet appears to indicate AT&T did send an alert, but only to customers with compatible phones, and sometime after other alerts went out:

Oh hey, AT&T, thanks for sending my storm alert about four hours after everyone else. instagr.am/p/Vc2DvAhq82/

— meena hart duerson (@meenasaurus) February 8, 2013

When asked whether it not it issued a WEA, AT&T sent Mashable this statement:

As we typically do in these situations, we're already sharing steps AT&T customers can take as storms converge on the Northeast. In addition, there are several mobile apps — including The Weather Channel and AccuWeather — that offer the option of push alert notifications. To turn them on, go to the app settings and set your preference for notifications. The National Weather Service also offers several weather radar and alert apps. As we told the FCC, we expect WEAs to be available on our LTE network this year and that WEA-capable LTE handsets will continue to enter the market throughout the year.

The last sentence seems to imply that AT&T's network is incapable of issuing WEAs, though the carrier's FAQ page about them says several phones were supposed to get the capability in fall 2012.

For its part, T-Mobile says it takes its WEA cues from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The carrier got the nod from them and told Mashable that it "broadcasted multiple National Weather Service Blizzard Warnings as CMAS alerts in New York, New Jersey and New England, including the state of Maine."

Sprint says it sent a WEA, and photos of the alerts appeared on Twitter shortly thereafter.

Thanks AT&T for leaving us to fend for ourselves against emergencies! No alert so far but my friend gets it on Sprint twitter.com/AleksIvic/stat…

— Aleks Ivic (@AleksIvic) February 7, 2013

The WEA system was created to alert subscribers about disasters, extreme weather, Amber alerts and "presidential" alerts (concerning national security).

Do you think WEAs are useful? How would you improve the system? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Update: This story originally implied Sprint may not have sent a WEA for the storm, but the carrier responded to Mashable's request for comment to assert that it did. We regret any implication otherwise.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, cjp

Screen capture courtesy of Apple