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WXJ20: NOAA Weather Radio for Columbia, South Carolina

WXJ20 is the NOAA Weather Radio transmitter at Columbia (transmitter at West Columbia), broadcasting on 162.400 MHz at 1000 watts. It carries the National Weather Service Columbia office's broadcast and covers 10 counties, each listed below with the SAME code an alert radio needs to wake for that county and stay quiet for the rest.

CallsignWXJ20
Frequency162.400 MHz
TransmitterColumbia (transmitter at West Columbia), South Carolina
Power1000 watts
Forecast officeNWS Columbia
StatusNormal (NWS data, July 2026)

Marine radios often label 162.400 MHz as WX2, but WX channel numbers vary by brand - go by the frequency.

Counties WXJ20 covers

CountyStateSAME code
CalhounSouth Carolina045017
FairfieldSouth Carolina045039
KershawSouth Carolina045055
LeeSouth Carolina045061
LexingtonSouth Carolina045063
NewberrySouth Carolina045071
OrangeburgSouth Carolina045075
RichlandSouth Carolina045079
SaludaSouth Carolina045081
SumterSouth Carolina045085

Program the six-digit code into your radio's SAME location list - the SAME code guide walks through it, and how alert radios work explains what the radio does with it.

Hearing WXJ20

Any receiver that tunes 162.400 MHz FM can listen: scanners, VHF ham radios, marine sets, or a software-defined receiver. What those do not do is wake you at 3 a.m. - for that you want a dedicated radio with SAME alerting, covered in the buyer's guide.

Every South Carolina transmitter, county and SAME code: NOAA Weather Radio in South Carolina. Or look any county up with the finder.

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