Got Tornadoes? Get a Weather Radio! Feb. 05, 2007
Florida just got slammed again with at least three tornadoes four days ago. They swept across the state during the very early morning while almost everyone was asleep. The area had no warning sirens. Twenty people dead at last count. The area looks like a giant bomb went off- leveling most of the homes. A new church, built to withstand a Category 4 hurricane was flattened. People were swept out of their beds with some found far away, some in lakes. The contents of their homes were swept right out along with them. The destructive power of a tornado can't be stopped, but can we do something to save lives?
The answer is yes. IF YOU LIVE IN AN AREA SUSCEPTIBLE TO TORNADOES, GET A WEATHER RADIO! For an investment of around $30 you could possibly save your life. As soon as we moved from the mountains of Virginia, where tornadoes rarely occur, to the coast of North Carolina, where waterspouts often come ashore and turn into tornadoes, I got a weather radio.
For those totally unaware of what a weather radio is, let me explain: All it does is sound a loud alarm for 15-20 seconds, then a robotic voice announces the change in weather that has activated the alarm and any precautions needed to be taken, etc. I got the smaller, more portable one from Radio Shack (pictured above), so we can take it with us on the boat. Other units look more like bedroom clock radios. Mine runs on batteries, or AC power. It does its job, sometimes too well. Let me explain that last sentence: When you get a weather radio, you sit down and program it to respond to signals sent from the National Weather Service. You get to choose the KIND of weather you want it to respond to, and THE AREA of the country about which you want to be alerted. I could have set mine to alert me of weather warnings in Virginia if I had wanted. I chose the counties surrounding us here in New Bern, NC, and I chose possibly too many weather warning types. I probably could have omitted hurricane warnings. Those are ubiquitous on the TV and radio. I chose for it to alarm me of strong thunder storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. (I think you can even program these things to warn you of freeze warnings!) Programming the thing isn't hard, but is time consuming. Just sit down for a few minutes with the owner's manual and "get 'er done." Then put the radio near your bed and turn the volume all the way up! You want to hear it go off when you're watching a movie or whatever. You can also push another button to have the radio tell you the current and future weather conditions, tides, wave heights, etc.
Is it a pain? Sometimes, during the summer, it will alarm us to strong thunderstorms passing through. When it goes off and I'm near enough to hear it, I head back to the bedroom to listen to the warning. That lasts 30 seconds, usually. Then I push a button to tell the unit I have heard the message, so it won't sit there and emit loud beeps to alert me that I have missed a message. This is no problem. But at 3 a.m. it is sometimes. It is a rude awakening! I know it's just doing its job, and I usually fall quickly back asleep. Remember- it was around 3 a.m. when those sleeping souls were sucked right out of their bedrooms with no time to prepare.
Get a weather radio if you live in an area that has tornadoes or frequent strong thunderstorms. Those strong thunderstorms seem to be getting more frequent, what with the global warming that scientists have finally agreed is occurring. (See my blog from last year on global warming, back when those scientists couldn't seem to make up their minds as to just why the Antarctic shelf and glaciers in Greenland were melting so fast.) When a strong thunderstorm nears, I frequently go out on the deck and close the patio table's umbrella which is screwed firmly to the deck, then run a rope around the lightweight chairs, etc. and anchor them to the railing. Sometimes I take down the hanging plants, wind chimes, etc. that could get beat-up. Then I go inside and watch "the show." These can be very strong storms, lots of high winds (up to 60 mph!) lightning and sideways rain! Once past us, I usually have to go out and haul small and large branches to our burn pit. (We have lots of trees.) Bigger storms take hours of cleanup time. These storms are now predicted to only get more frequent and stronger with global warming occurring. I am seriously thinking of removing some of those lovely trees nearest our home, knowing they could fall on us. My neighbor says, "That's what you have insurance for."
I predict weather radios will become almost as common as iPods soon, because of global warming. For the price of an inexpensive dinner for two you can have at least a few minutes warning from a tornado. That's enough time to get into an interior closet, hallway,or bathtub with thick pillows from your sofa over your head. I wish those poor folks in Florida had those few moments. Give one to someone you love as a Christmas or birthday present!
(Added 2-6-07) I just heard a short news piece on NBC News last night about the Florida tornadoes. In it they said The National Weather Service issued three tornado warnings, one 16 minutes before they hit, one 11 minutes, and one 6 minutes before they touched down. Then the announcer went on to say a weather radio- some as inexpensive as 16$- could have saved many people. Wonder if they read my blog written just 8 hours or so before their broadcast? Naaaa.
(Added 3-9-07) Yesterday I went to Radio Shack and bought another weather radio like the one I own. This is to be a gift for a relative. It's been a couple years since I got mine, and the portable model is a tad smaller and a lot pricier! It's now going to cost you $70 to get the hand-held model WITH the power adaptor!!! That's almost double what I paid. Maybe check around for a better price- like on eBay, etc.
I looked at their "Red Cross" model weather radio with all the nice features- hand crank capability, flashlight, AM-FM radio, even a cell phone charger! But DON'T buy this unit! If you inquire, you'll find the owner's manual is rather vague on the topic of whether or not the unit will AUTOMATICLY alert you of a changing weather event. The store manager told me she had asked other Radio Shack dealers and had been told IT WILL NOT PERFORM THIS FUNCTION! Looks slick, but don't buy it for THIS purpose. Put your $50 towards one that will awaken you, alert you, without you having to turn it on to the NOAA channel.
Florida just got slammed again with at least three tornadoes four days ago. They swept across the state during the very early morning while almost everyone was asleep. The area had no warning sirens. Twenty people dead at last count. The area looks like a giant bomb went off- leveling most of the homes. A new church, built to withstand a Category 4 hurricane was flattened. People were swept out of their beds with some found far away, some in lakes. The contents of their homes were swept right out along with them. The destructive power of a tornado can't be stopped, but can we do something to save lives?
The answer is yes. IF YOU LIVE IN AN AREA SUSCEPTIBLE TO TORNADOES, GET A WEATHER RADIO! For an investment of around $30 you could possibly save your life. As soon as we moved from the mountains of Virginia, where tornadoes rarely occur, to the coast of North Carolina, where waterspouts often come ashore and turn into tornadoes, I got a weather radio.
For those totally unaware of what a weather radio is, let me explain: All it does is sound a loud alarm for 15-20 seconds, then a robotic voice announces the change in weather that has activated the alarm and any precautions needed to be taken, etc. I got the smaller, more portable one from Radio Shack (pictured above), so we can take it with us on the boat. Other units look more like bedroom clock radios. Mine runs on batteries, or AC power. It does its job, sometimes too well. Let me explain that last sentence: When you get a weather radio, you sit down and program it to respond to signals sent from the National Weather Service. You get to choose the KIND of weather you want it to respond to, and THE AREA of the country about which you want to be alerted. I could have set mine to alert me of weather warnings in Virginia if I had wanted. I chose the counties surrounding us here in New Bern, NC, and I chose possibly too many weather warning types. I probably could have omitted hurricane warnings. Those are ubiquitous on the TV and radio. I chose for it to alarm me of strong thunder storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. (I think you can even program these things to warn you of freeze warnings!) Programming the thing isn't hard, but is time consuming. Just sit down for a few minutes with the owner's manual and "get 'er done." Then put the radio near your bed and turn the volume all the way up! You want to hear it go off when you're watching a movie or whatever. You can also push another button to have the radio tell you the current and future weather conditions, tides, wave heights, etc.
Is it a pain? Sometimes, during the summer, it will alarm us to strong thunderstorms passing through. When it goes off and I'm near enough to hear it, I head back to the bedroom to listen to the warning. That lasts 30 seconds, usually. Then I push a button to tell the unit I have heard the message, so it won't sit there and emit loud beeps to alert me that I have missed a message. This is no problem. But at 3 a.m. it is sometimes. It is a rude awakening! I know it's just doing its job, and I usually fall quickly back asleep. Remember- it was around 3 a.m. when those sleeping souls were sucked right out of their bedrooms with no time to prepare.
Get a weather radio if you live in an area that has tornadoes or frequent strong thunderstorms. Those strong thunderstorms seem to be getting more frequent, what with the global warming that scientists have finally agreed is occurring. (See my blog from last year on global warming, back when those scientists couldn't seem to make up their minds as to just why the Antarctic shelf and glaciers in Greenland were melting so fast.) When a strong thunderstorm nears, I frequently go out on the deck and close the patio table's umbrella which is screwed firmly to the deck, then run a rope around the lightweight chairs, etc. and anchor them to the railing. Sometimes I take down the hanging plants, wind chimes, etc. that could get beat-up. Then I go inside and watch "the show." These can be very strong storms, lots of high winds (up to 60 mph!) lightning and sideways rain! Once past us, I usually have to go out and haul small and large branches to our burn pit. (We have lots of trees.) Bigger storms take hours of cleanup time. These storms are now predicted to only get more frequent and stronger with global warming occurring. I am seriously thinking of removing some of those lovely trees nearest our home, knowing they could fall on us. My neighbor says, "That's what you have insurance for."
I predict weather radios will become almost as common as iPods soon, because of global warming. For the price of an inexpensive dinner for two you can have at least a few minutes warning from a tornado. That's enough time to get into an interior closet, hallway,or bathtub with thick pillows from your sofa over your head. I wish those poor folks in Florida had those few moments. Give one to someone you love as a Christmas or birthday present!
(Added 2-6-07) I just heard a short news piece on NBC News last night about the Florida tornadoes. In it they said The National Weather Service issued three tornado warnings, one 16 minutes before they hit, one 11 minutes, and one 6 minutes before they touched down. Then the announcer went on to say a weather radio- some as inexpensive as 16$- could have saved many people. Wonder if they read my blog written just 8 hours or so before their broadcast? Naaaa.
(Added 3-9-07) Yesterday I went to Radio Shack and bought another weather radio like the one I own. This is to be a gift for a relative. It's been a couple years since I got mine, and the portable model is a tad smaller and a lot pricier! It's now going to cost you $70 to get the hand-held model WITH the power adaptor!!! That's almost double what I paid. Maybe check around for a better price- like on eBay, etc.
I looked at their "Red Cross" model weather radio with all the nice features- hand crank capability, flashlight, AM-FM radio, even a cell phone charger! But DON'T buy this unit! If you inquire, you'll find the owner's manual is rather vague on the topic of whether or not the unit will AUTOMATICLY alert you of a changing weather event. The store manager told me she had asked other Radio Shack dealers and had been told IT WILL NOT PERFORM THIS FUNCTION! Looks slick, but don't buy it for THIS purpose. Put your $50 towards one that will awaken you, alert you, without you having to turn it on to the NOAA channel.
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