Timely, accurate weather information saves lives, reduces property damage, and builds public trust. Local governments are often the most trusted source of information during severe weather events. TextMyGov Weather Alerts enable agencies to automatically and manually notify residents via text message when conditions pose a safety threat.

This guide is designed for city, county, and tribal officials, emergency managers, public information officers, and IT staff. It explains:

• How TextMyGov Weather Alerts work
• How to set them up and manage them
• Best practices for effective weather communication
• Operational, legal, and public-safety considerations

TextMyGov Weather Alerts integrates with NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) to automatically deliver real-time weather warnings directly to residents via SMS text messages. These alerts help ensure no one is left uninformed about dangerous weather conditions.

TextMyGov can distribute a wide range of NWS-issued alerts, including:

• Tornado Warnings
• Severe Thunderstorm Warnings
• Flood and Flash Flood Warnings
• Winter Storm and Blizzard Warnings
• Extreme Heat and Cold Warnings
• And much more!

Residents opt in by texting a keyword to the agency’s TextMyGov number. No apps are required, and alerts are delivered instantly to their phones.

TextMyGov directly integrates with NOAA’s National Weather Service, ensuring alerts come from authoritative, verified sources and are issued automatically as soon as NWS publishes them.

The National Weather Service is the United States’ primary authority for weather warnings and life‑safety alerts. By integrating directly with NWS systems, TextMyGov ensures:

• Alerts are official and unaltered
• Timing matches broadcast, radio, and emergency alert systems
• Messages align with federal weather standards and terminology

This reinforces public confidence and reduces the risk of misinformation.

Severe weather often coincides with surges in public communication demand. NOAA integration helps by:

• Removing manual bottlenecks
• Reducing reliance on staff availability
• Ensuring alerts are pushed even during fast‑moving or overnight events

This reinforces public confidence and reduces the risk of misinformation.

This reliability strengthens overall emergency preparedness and continuity of operations.

NOAA integration forms the foundation of TextMyGov Weather Alerts, providing accurate, timely, and trusted weather information, while allowing local governments to layer in local context, policy, and response guidance.

Once enabled, TextMyGov continuously monitors NWS alert feeds. When a qualifying alert is issued for your jurisdiction:

• The alert is detected instantly
• A text message is generated automatically
• Residents receive the alert within moments—without staff intervention

This automation ensures alerts go out even when local offices are closed, understaffed, or focused on response operations.

NOAA‑based alerts delivered through TextMyGov are consistent with:

• NOAA Weather Radio
• Emergency Alert System (EAS)
• Local TV and radio weather broadcasts

This consistency helps residents quickly recognize the seriousness of an event and trust the information received.

Not every weather advisory needs to trigger a resident alert. TextMyGov’s NOAA integration supports:

• Selective alert levels (warnings vs. watches)
• Event‑type filtering
• Jurisdiction‑specific targeting

This ensures residents receive fewer, more meaningful messages, increasing the likelihood they will read and act on alerts when they matter most.

TextMyGov’s support team assists agencies through a three-phase setup process:

• Account onboarding
• NOAA integration
• Testing and staff training

Officials can choose which weather severity types trigger alerts, helping prevent alert fatigue while still providing critical information. The severity levels are: Severe, Moderate, and Minor.

Using the TextMyGov map feature, agencies can send alerts only to affected neighborhoods or jurisdictions, improving relevance and reducing confusion. This does not apply to the automatic weather alerts feature.

Automatic weather alert messages are sent and include:

• The severity level
• The type of event
• Link with full details

When sending manual alerts, messages should clearly state:

• What is happening
• Where it is happening
• What residents should do next

Ensure emergency management, public works, law enforcement, and public information officers coordinate messaging so residents receive consistent information.

Your goal is to reach every resident. About 98% of U.S. residents own a cell phone. TextMyGov Weather Alerts should be the primary emergency channel, complemented by channels such as social media, local media outlets, NOAA Weather Radio, and emergency sirens.

Agencies should establish internal policies defining:

• Who is authorized to send alerts
• When manual overrides are allowed
• Recordkeeping and audit requirements

Residents must be informed how to opt in and out, how frequently they may receive messages, and that message and data rates may apply.

TextMyGov Weather Alerts provide local governments with a reliable, fast, and resident-friendly way to protect their communities during severe weather. When implemented correctly, they become a core component of any modern emergency communication strategy.