To survive a tornado or other catastrophic weather event, you need enough notification to get in a vehicle and flee the area. While owning an NOAA weather radio is an excellent solution for this, it’s one that not many people consider or even know about.
Let’s take a deeper look at how this plays out.
In the aftermath of a tragic tornado incident, you’ll see the survivors on the news saying they had no warning the tornado was coming. That it came out of nowhere and destroyed their lives, giving them no time to react. It’s common for these stories to involve lost homes, but even worse are the stories of lost lives. If they’d had twenty minutes warning, maybe things could have been different.
The Right Tools For The Wrong Weather
We live in a world full of technology, and now, we have the tools we need to know when a tornado is coming and give people the warning they need to survive. The problem is that not everyone has these tools. While home weather stations are useful in many ways, they do not actually alert you when danger is about to strike.
This is where an NOAA weather radio comes in. NOAA stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is an organization of scientists that study the weather of the seas and skies. These weather radios provide alerts when a major weather event is headed in your direction and you need to know about it as soon as possible.
There are many different NOAA weather radios on the market. They come in varying levels of portability and design and are meant for people in different life situations. There are walkie talkie NOAA weather radios, pocket sized devices, portable devices, and ones meant to stay stationary on a desktop.
So which NOAA weather radios offer the best options for you and your life? What will best protect you while you’re on the job or at home?
The truth is that having any type of NOAA weather radio is better than having nothing at all, but there are options with these devices that can make them more convenient. If your device is too large for you to carry with you when you are working outdoors, so you never bring it with you, then it won’t do you any good when you need it the most. If you need a device in your home that is loud, stable, and not going to get lost, then this will affect your buying decision in selecting the best product for your needs. The more remote you are will also affect your choice of product.
Are you someone who works outdoors? Are you hiking through the woods for days at a time through territory where weather events, like tornadoes, are a threat to your life?
There are now NOAA weather radio devices with options like solar panels and/or hand cranks to keep them charged. These devices have storm alerts (known as SAME, or Specific Area Message Encoding) that will grab your attention with a loud siren that will immediately alert you to danger before it strikes. You’ll have as much time as possible to find appropriate shelter and keep yourself safe. These types of devices meant for the outdoors are a bit more expensive, but a lot more rugged. They also come with convenient features like flashlights and phone chargers, as well as regular AM/FM radio settings. If you’re going to be carrying a device around with you while outdoors, it’s convenient if the added weight can offer you other features that make it more worthwhile on a daily basis.
Now, if you don’t require something super rugged but still want something portable, there are pocket weather radios. These are meant for when you’re not going to be outdoors for days at a time, away from civilization, so you aren’t going to have things like a hand crank or solar panel. But they will be a great option if you’re driving around in your car or going for a day hike or working outside for a shorter period of time.
If you’re working with a team, and need something portable, you’ll want to look at walkie talkie models. These will let you communicate with each other when you’re miles apart and still keep weather alerts coming in when you need them most.
If you’re just needing something for home or the office, and you want to get something serious so you know you’ll always be safe, look at desktop models. These will have the loudest sirens and the best and most reliable features. When you want something dependable for your home or office, these heavy duty devices will be your go-to option.
When you’re considering models for a desktop model, you need to find something with a backup battery. These are often plugged into the wall, which is great because you won’t have to change the batteries as often, but you need a backup battery option in case the power goes out, which is so likely to happen in a weather event. You also want this device to be automatically receiving alerts. For a stationary device, you’re not likely to check on it and make sure it’s doing its job too often. The primary benefit of these models is that they are dependable and make you feel safe and cared for in the case of emergency.
Why Can’t I Just Rely On My Cell Phone?
Because these devices are built with a stronger signal meant specifically for these kinds of alerts, keeping them simple and strong. If you’ve ever been in a hurricane or a very strong storm, you know that sometimes your electricity goes out. The same goes for your cell phone service. When real life disaster strikes, you need something more reliable than your cell phone signal to keep you safe and alerted.
Whether you are typically at home and your office, or you’re adventuring outside in remote terrain, there are many options available to make sure you are always going to have enough notification to get yourself to safety in a disastrous weather event. Keeping an NOAA weather radio in all situations is one way to not only remain prepared, but to be able to go about your life less concerned about what might happen, which means peace of mind you and your family deserve.