The Federal Emergency Management Agency, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will conduct a nationwide Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), Wednesday – October 3, 2018.

The test will take place in two parts: the WEA portion starting at 2:18 p.m. ET, followed by the EAS portion at 2:20 p.m. EDT.

This is the first nationwide WEA test and the fourth for the EAS.

The overall test will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether technological improvements are needed.

Most cell phone users nationwide will receive an alert tone on their phone and a test message that reads "This is a TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed."