A weather radio station that promises better emergency coverage for Cape Girardeau is up and running, ready to alert listeners with special receivers about potentially hazardous weather.

The 300-watt station began transmitting Aug. 20 and operates at 162.550 megahertz, said Rick Shanklin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Paducah, Ky. The station's call letters are KXI-93.

"It's really a matter of better coverage, especially in Cape Girardeau, which has really been a dead spot for us because of some of the terrain and the river," Shanklin said.

The station is situated at the KGMO radio tower north of Cape Girardeau. It cost $100,000 and was paid for by Citizens Electric Co-op, a Ste. Genevieve-based electric company.

"I think it's a great idea," said David Hitt, emergency management director for Cape Girardeau County. "I think it will be good for Cape County."

Hitt said his home radio picks up the signal much clearer. "So people at home should be noticing a difference," he said. "The more people who are informed, the quicker they can take action and maybe take preventative measures."

City sought station

Shanklin said the city of Cape Girardeau approached the weather service asking for broadcasts that were specific to the area with better reception. The goal of the weather service is to reach 95 percent of the population, and with the new station he estimates between 95 percent and 100 percent will be reached.

The station will serve the seven Missouri counties of Cape Girardeau, Perry, Bollinger, Scott and Mississippi as well as the Illinois counties of Alexander and Union.

The Cape Girardeau station is the most recent to be put on line by the weather service, which now has 10 in Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, western Kentucky and southern Indiana.

The station is overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is the parent organization of the National Weather Service.

Late getting started

The station was initially scheduled to begin transmitting in June, but Shanklin said it was delayed while waiting for installation of a telephone line. Cape Girardeau had been served by a station in Dexter, Mo., Shanklin said.

While some conventional AM-FM radios may pick up the station, in most cases listeners wanting to tune in have to purchase special weather radios, Shanklin said. The radios can be purchased at radio and electronics stores for $30 to $80, Shanklin said. Some of the more expensive weather radios have a feature that allows listeners to select which counties they want to monitor, he said. Shanklin said 15 to 25 percent of the population have weather radios.

"It gives us a way to more effectively get emergency weather information to the broadcast media -- radio and TV stations," Shanklin said. "That way we can get the warnings out to most people."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137