DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The National Weather Service in Des Moines has lost the ability to transmit updates through its central Iowa weather radio system due to a storm-related telephone service outage.

David Sheets, a meteorologist in the Davenport office, says the eastern Iowa office has taken over forecasting duties for the Des Moines office until service is restored.

The Des Moines office posted a message on its website indicating that all phone lines are down and its weather radio system isn't working.

More than a dozen radio transmitters were off the air, including those in Des Moines, Waterloo, Ottumwa, and Forest City.

Sheets says such an outage is rare but it has happened before. He advises people to tune into commercial stations until the Weather Service transmitters are back up.