NWS Des Moines Area MICRN Severe Weather Net

The Des Moines National Weather Service MICRN (Metro Incident Command Radio Network) is a multi-county system that connects dispatch centers, emergency management, public works, and other municipal agencies with the National Weather Service in the Des Moines area. Severe weather briefings and other weather-related discussions take place on MICRN as well as storm reports from police and fire personnel. Includes the following Iowa counties: Boone, Story, Marshall, Dallas, Polk, Jasper, Madison, Warren, and Marion.

This is not a NOAA or other Weather Radio feed.

It is a two-way public safety radio feed. Simply put, it is Skywarn for dispatch centers, emergency management, and other municipal entities. It is run exactly like a Skywarn net, with a person at Des Moines NWS being net control, and dispatchers, EMA, public works and other city personnel calling in storm reports that they have received from the general public, police officers, and firefighters. Not only that, but NWS usually holds severe weather briefings prior to an expected severe weather event, where a two-way discussion between the NWS and the MICRN municipal participants, and it gives a really good insight as to what to expect in the next few hours. MICRN is broadcast on the Story County trunked system (http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=2094). There are very few systems like MICRN in use by the NWS today -- it's something very unique to the Des Moines NWS office.