New Weather Alert System Launches In Hennepin County This March

Changes are coming to hazardous weather alerts in Minnesota this March. The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities highlighted the change coming, it involves sending alerts for hazardous weather in just the affected areas, rather than sending an alert for a whole county. Here's what we know about the upcoming changes.

On March 18, 2025, Partial County Alerting (PCA) is scheduled to begin for Hennepin County. This means you will have the ability to receive more targeted alerts on NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards. If you choose to continue to receive alerts for the whole county (as is the only option today), you don't need to do anything.

To receive alerts for your local area only, reference the SAME code map and change '027053' in your weather radio (which is the county-wide code), to the appropriate code for your city/area. If you live near a boundary, you may wish to include more than one.

Note: if there is a significant weather event ongoing nationwide, the implementation date may change.

The proposed change would only affect Hennepin County, including the Rogers, Hanover, and Maple Grove cities. Duluth's NWS has been using the PCA system according to the Twin Cities National Weather Service. It's unclear if the partial county alerts, PCA, will debut in other counties in 2025.

Get our free mobile app

The changes won't start until March, so Hennepin County residents might not notice the change until warmer weather in the summer months when we experience more hazardous weather.

Get our free mobile app

What do you think about this alert change?

Crowded House at The Ledge Amphitheater, 2024

The Australian 80s/90s pop band Crowded House brought their Gravity Stairs Tour to celebrate the release of their 8th studio album by the same name to Waite Park. Lead singer Neil Finn's son, Liam opened the show with his solo work and then joined the band later. The photo gallery below captures the fun of the night.