Buy a Weather Radio, and attend a Storm Spotter class
As we head into the more active weather season of the year, it is good to remind everyone in the U.S. that you should have at least one good functioning weather radio in each household. Preferably one that runs off of mains, but with battery backup, and provides the latest in SAME-coded reception.
The National Weather Service, both to meet their needs for alerting the public and for their role in the nation's Emergency Alert System (EAS), have invested heavily in a radio service that covers nearly every part of the U.S., including Hawaii, the U.S. possessions in the Caribbean, Guam, and major populated areas in the state of Alaska. Over 1,000 transmitters are now in place, ranging in power from 300 to 1,000 watts with overlapping reception areas. The main set of webpages describing this system can be found here: http://www.weather.gov/nwr/.
Besides getting 24 hour weather information, you will be able to get near-instant notification of weather warnings, watches, and advisories. Everything is broadcast with sub-audible digital coding, known as SAME, that can set off an alarm when a warning comes through and allows you to keep the radio silent (squelched) until such a warning is sent. The better radios (starting already at only $30 for a Midland WR-100) include the ability to select only those counties for which you want to receive these warnings. And even slightly better radios (starting at just under twice this price) allow you to select (or deselect) which types of warnings you wish to get. By this I mean that you could disable both alerts for counties too far away, but you can also disable the reception of things like AMBER alerts, for instance.
Which leads me to the other point I want to make about weather radios -- they represent the closest thing we have in the U.S. to a government-sponsored broadcast network. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) in general also includes all major broadcast stations, over-the-air television stations, and most major cable providers, which also broadcasts weather warnings and other major disaster alerts. But the NOAA weather radio network is the only strictly government-provided network. As a major participant in the EAS, and part of its backbone, your NOAA weather radio will also get all Presidential and other national alerts in times of major distress or emergency, plus the same for your local state. Lets hope it will never be needed this way, but your weather radio could prove valuable in the future, along with a basic AM/FM (and possibly shortwave radio) for getting information in case we lose telephone and internet service. And being a radio receiver is very low-power to operate (as compared to power-hungry computers and televisions), they are great information source for times when the power is out, or for households that operate strictly by solar or wind generated energy. In fact, many companies manufacture AM/FM/weather radio receivers that operate by crank-power (dynamo), solar cell, and other rechargeable batteries. Having one of those might be a valuable option as well.
Let me also give a plug for everyone who is even the least bit interested in weather to attend a locally taught weather or Storm Spotter class. These are taught though out the country, but particularly in the middle section of the U.S. where extreme weather such as thunderstorms and tornadoes are prevalent, by the National Weather Service and are free of charge. They are typically taught during the spring months of January through April, and last about two hours. Listen to your weather radio to hear announcements about upcoming classes, or search on "storm spotter" on the NWS web pages at http://www.weather.gov/. These courses will be valuable in preparing you to know what to watch for when inclement weather is heading your way. I in fact attended a course just the other evening; I hadn't been to one in a dozen or more years and thought I should get the latest skinny on what they are saying in these courses. I went even though I used to teach introductory college weather courses in the past, so it is appropriate that you should go as well. (I also wanted to know how much I had forgotten in the nine years since I last taught this stuff.)
Bye for now from Dubuque, Iowa, where it is currently sunny and spring has definitely arrived.
Kevin Anderson
The National Weather Service, both to meet their needs for alerting the public and for their role in the nation's Emergency Alert System (EAS), have invested heavily in a radio service that covers nearly every part of the U.S., including Hawaii, the U.S. possessions in the Caribbean, Guam, and major populated areas in the state of Alaska. Over 1,000 transmitters are now in place, ranging in power from 300 to 1,000 watts with overlapping reception areas. The main set of webpages describing this system can be found here: http://www.weather.gov/nwr/.
Besides getting 24 hour weather information, you will be able to get near-instant notification of weather warnings, watches, and advisories. Everything is broadcast with sub-audible digital coding, known as SAME, that can set off an alarm when a warning comes through and allows you to keep the radio silent (squelched) until such a warning is sent. The better radios (starting already at only $30 for a Midland WR-100) include the ability to select only those counties for which you want to receive these warnings. And even slightly better radios (starting at just under twice this price) allow you to select (or deselect) which types of warnings you wish to get. By this I mean that you could disable both alerts for counties too far away, but you can also disable the reception of things like AMBER alerts, for instance.
Which leads me to the other point I want to make about weather radios -- they represent the closest thing we have in the U.S. to a government-sponsored broadcast network. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) in general also includes all major broadcast stations, over-the-air television stations, and most major cable providers, which also broadcasts weather warnings and other major disaster alerts. But the NOAA weather radio network is the only strictly government-provided network. As a major participant in the EAS, and part of its backbone, your NOAA weather radio will also get all Presidential and other national alerts in times of major distress or emergency, plus the same for your local state. Lets hope it will never be needed this way, but your weather radio could prove valuable in the future, along with a basic AM/FM (and possibly shortwave radio) for getting information in case we lose telephone and internet service. And being a radio receiver is very low-power to operate (as compared to power-hungry computers and televisions), they are great information source for times when the power is out, or for households that operate strictly by solar or wind generated energy. In fact, many companies manufacture AM/FM/weather radio receivers that operate by crank-power (dynamo), solar cell, and other rechargeable batteries. Having one of those might be a valuable option as well.
Let me also give a plug for everyone who is even the least bit interested in weather to attend a locally taught weather or Storm Spotter class. These are taught though out the country, but particularly in the middle section of the U.S. where extreme weather such as thunderstorms and tornadoes are prevalent, by the National Weather Service and are free of charge. They are typically taught during the spring months of January through April, and last about two hours. Listen to your weather radio to hear announcements about upcoming classes, or search on "storm spotter" on the NWS web pages at http://www.weather.gov/. These courses will be valuable in preparing you to know what to watch for when inclement weather is heading your way. I in fact attended a course just the other evening; I hadn't been to one in a dozen or more years and thought I should get the latest skinny on what they are saying in these courses. I went even though I used to teach introductory college weather courses in the past, so it is appropriate that you should go as well. (I also wanted to know how much I had forgotten in the nine years since I last taught this stuff.)
Bye for now from Dubuque, Iowa, where it is currently sunny and spring has definitely arrived.
Kevin Anderson
posted by Kevin Anderson K9IUA at 9:52 AM
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