Nationwide EAS Test Today

UNDATED -- Be on the lookout for an Emergency Alert System test this afternoon. But, it isn't your normal EAS alert.  For the first time in history, a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System will take place.

It happens at 1:00 p.m. today and will last for about three minutes, or one minute longer than the local test you are used to hearing.

Normally, the EAS is used to send weather and other emergency alerts but it is set up to be a national public alert and warning system in case the President of the United States needs to address the American public in extreme emergencies.

Although the EAS has been around for years, there has never been an end-to-end nationwide test.

The test will determine its reliability and identify improvements that can be made.

FEMA, the FCC and NOAA will conduct today's test.