U.S. radio stations—especially local AM/FM stations—still have a surprisingly strong claim to “owning the weather franchise” in the public mind and in practical emergency situations, even in 2025 when everyone has a smartphone with radar apps.
Here’s why they continue to dominate weather coverage in ways that apps and TV can’t fully replace:
Hyper-Local Trust Built Over Decades
Most Americans grew up with one or two local radio stations as the voice of weather. Names like “Storm Team 4” on TV come and go, but “NewsRadio 880,” “KXL,” “WBBM,” or “1010 WINS” have been giving school closings, marine forecasts, and severe-weather updates for 50–100 years. That generational trust doesn’t evaporate just because the National Weather Service has a good app.
Works When the Cell Network and Power Don’t
During major hurricanes, ice storms, and tornado outbreaks, cell towers fail, internet goes down, and phones die within hours. A $20 battery-powered or hand-crank AM/FM radio + NOAA weather radio still works. FEMA, the Red Cross, and every emergency manager will tell you: in the 2024 Hurricane Helene aftermath in North Carolina, western North Carolina survivors overwhelmingly got lifesaving information from local radio stations broadcasting on generator power, not from their dead iPhones.
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and NOAA Weather Radio still designate local radio stations as the primary entry point stations for national-level emergencies. When the President or NWS issues a warning, it frequently hits radio first and most reliably.
Live, Human Interpretation in Real Time
Smartphone apps give you raw radar and boilerplate text warnings. A good radio meteorologist (or even news anchor who knows the county names) translates: “That hook echo is heading straight for downtown Paducah—get to your basement on the south side of 2nd Street now.” That contextual, human narration has saved countless lives and still can’t be replicated by an app’s robotic voice.
The Car Factor
80–90 % of American adults still spend serious time in vehicles every day. Car radios are essentially always on, always updated, and weather/traffic is the #1 reason people still listen to terrestrial radio. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are popular, but when you’re driving through rural Mississippi in a thunderstorm with spotty cell service, the FM signal is still there.
Regulatory and Cultural Inertia
TV stations have largely abandoned local weather staffs (Gray, Sinclair, Nexstar have centralized “weather centers” in another state). Meanwhile, many radio clusters still keep a real meteorologist because it’s cheap (one person can cover 5–6 stations) and it keeps the FCC happy for public-service obligations.
“Appointment Listening” During Severe Weather
When tornado sirens go off, people don’t open an app—they turn on the radio or TV. Radio wins in bedrooms (clock radios, boomboxes) and in workplaces where phones are banned or silenced. In the Midwest and South, “storm season,” radio stations routinely triple their audience overnight during severe weather.
Advertising Goldmine
Weather still drives a disproportionate share of radio revenue. Local car dealers, home improvement chains, and insurance agencies will pay almost anything to own weather sponsorships because listeners are in a “ready-to-buy” mindset” (generator, plywood, new roof, etc.).
In short: smartphones have the data, but local radio stations still own the trust, the reach when everything else fails, and the emotional role of “the voice that keeps us safe.” Until we have Starlink phones in every pocket and perfect mesh networks everywhere, radio keeps the weather franchise in most of America—especially outside the big coastal cities.