CHADRON - The collapse during the weekend blizzard of the Eagle Communications transmitter tower about 20 miles southwest of Chadron on the Dawes County table knocked out a lot more than just the signal of the company's Double Q Country/KQSK radio station.

The tower also held communications equipment for the Dawes County Sheriff's Office, Northwest Rural Public Power District, and the Chadron Amateur Radio Club, as well as the NOAA weather radio of the National Weather Service.

Senior meteorologist Jared Allen, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Cheyenne says the agency will be meeting later this week with engineers and officials from Eagle Communications to determine the extent of the damage and possible fixes to restore service.

Allen says the loss of the NOAA radio makes it harder, but not impossible to get out warnings for severe weather. He feels one of the best is a cell phone app, but says social media is also an option for checking on potentially hazardous weather.

Dawes County Sheriff Karl Dailey says he's in somewhat the same situation as the National Weather Service - waiting for a report on the possible impacts of losing the radio repeater that used the tower and options for dealing with the loss.