Residents across Cullman may have noticed plenty of rebuilding throughout the city in recent weeks, but one job under way is important to most residents throughout the county.

A company has been erecting a new tower and building to restore the county’s ability to use the National Weather Service radio alert system. The old tower, located behind First Baptist Church, was crushed by the April 27 tornado that tore through Cullman. The destruction of the tower left National Weather Service radio transmissions for the specific area limited to mostly the city of Cullman, said Phyllis Little, director of Cullman County Emergency Management Agency.

“The NWS broadcasts come through Arab, Huntsville and Birmingham as well as the tower in Cullman. The importance of the local tower is that the transmissions are directly about weather conditions in Cullman County,” Little said. “When the tower is active we can reach about 85 percent of the people in the county. The only area we have difficulty reaching is around Smith Lake because of the amount of hills in the area.”

Construction of the new tower is expected to be completed just after New Year’s Day. The transmission equipment should be installed by the end of January 2012.

A weather radio can be purchased at various retail outlets around the area. Little has often advised residents to invest in a weather radio, which can run off electricity or batteries, and provide ample warnings directly from the National Weather Service about impending weather events.

Until the tower and transmitter are installed, residents in the north and northeast sections of the county can program their radio to pick up reports through the Arab transmitter. North and northwest residents of the county can pick up reports from Huntsville, while some in the south end of the county can pick up reports from Birmingham.

* David Palmer may be contacted at 256-734-2131, Ext. 213, or dpalmer@cullmantimes.com.