Weather Radios' Importance

Hi there, today I wanted to talk about weather radios, because we are coming into hurricane season, and I believe that having a weather radio is essential!! There are many different kinds of weather radios and you could even get an app on your phone that will give you up to date weather forecasts...technology really blows my mind sometimes. So let's go over some and cool and important information for your brain.

What do they do

The weather radio service is provided by the NOAA which broadcasts continuous weather information directly from the National Weather Service, over a nationwide network of radio stations. They broadcast official warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

What kinds are there

There are many different kinds of weather radios out there. We can start with the portable ones, some of them come with hand cranks so you don't need batteries which could be nice. If you are on the go that would be ideal since lugging around batteries might be out of the question. If you get a battery operated one make sure you have a lot of extra batteries. The bigger ones have flashlights - very smart idea, and some have horns and flashing lights if you're in trouble -could be useful. Most now-a-days come with an aux input for your mp3 player if listening to the am/fm is not for you. Some come with plugs to charge phones, or plug-in say a blender ( when your powers out and your ice is melting, why not make use and make a margarita!!). There are many top brands out there like Ambient...Midland...Oregon Scientific... WeatherX... Just look for NOAA on the box and you should be good.

The frequencies or channels

When you get your radio home and turn it on, you will see a dial or switch for am/fm/wb. The WB is for your weatherband. I have went to the NOAA website and they said there are seven main frequencies (MHz) on the VHF public service band they have for the weather radio. Here they are ... 162.400 - 162.425 - 162.450 - 162.475 - 162.500 - 162.525 - 162.550 On your instructions that came with your device should also be a website to go and get a more local frequecy just for your area.

Apps

There are many weather notifying apps out there for any phone, most of them free. The NOAA has a free radio app out there that you can get weather updates from. I have heard that in severe weather situations that maybe it's not the best. But I am sure they are working on that. I don't know if I would rely on my cell phone in an emergency situation such as a hurricane seeing how winds could blow down the cell tower, but that's me.

Are you convinced

So the next time your power is lost, or you have no cable and the fm radio station doesn't have the weather broadcasting...you're in the middle of a storm- are you going to have a weather radio? I am, and lots of batteries to go with it. Actually, I think I am going to go buy a better one then the one I have cause I think I want one with at plug!! Ya know for margaritas and stuff!