Tools for keeping you safe

9/1/2020 (Permalink)

Lightning in the sky during a storm

One of the best precautions you can take is to purchase a good quality weather radio. A weather radio is designed to alert you to potentially dangerous weather situations, like an approaching tornado. It allows you to be warned ahead of storms, providing you time to seek shelter. A weather radio is the most reliable source for weather alerts.

Weather radios have made many advancements over the years and are very affordable. Most basic weather radios average around $30 and can be programmed to only alert you for the weather alerts you choose.

When shopping for a weather radio look for the following key features.

• Reviewable alerts (you can scroll through alerts and turn off the siren for alerts you do not wish to hear)
• Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME)
• Alert programming (alerts when specific counties are threatened, ensuring you only receive alerts for your country)
• Ease of programming

If you need help programming your weather radio, you can always contact your local National Weather Service Office or for additional information, including county codes for your state, visit NOAA Weather Radio website at www.nws.gove/nwr