NOAA Weather Radio: Why EVERY Family Needs to Have One of These... it may just save your life!
We interrupt this blog for a quick PSA about NOAA Weather Radios since it’s storm season. As you may know, I'm a weather nerd and I'm very passionate about weather safety. If you do NOTHING else, GET ONE OF THESE RADIOS.
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from the nearest National Weather Service office. NWR broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Working with the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) Emergency Alert System , NWR is an "All Hazards" radio network, making it your single source for comprehensive weather and emergency information. In conjunction with Federal, State, and Local Emergency Managers and other public officials, NWR also broadcasts warning and post-event information for all types of hazards – including natural (such as earthquakes or avalanches), environmental (such as chemical releases or oil spills), and public safety (such as AMBER alerts or 911 Telephone outages).
Known as the "Voice of NOAA's National Weather Service," NWR is provided as a public service by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), part of the Department of Commerce. NWR includes 1025 transmitters, covering all 50 states, adjacent coastal waters, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Pacific Territories. NWR requires a special radio receiver or scanner capable of picking up the signal. Broadcasts are found in the VHF public service band at these seven frequencies (MHz):
162.400, 162.425, 162.450, 162.475, 162.500, 162.525, 162.550
These radios can save your life. They are easy to program and you can silence the alarms you’re not interested in. We currently have ours set to only go off for severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings. I have everything else turned off so we don’t get needless alarms, especially during naptimes and night time, but yeah, I’d want to know about tornadoes in the middle of the night.
Get a radio with SAME alerts so you can get alerts just for your area. I’d also get one that you can unplug and take with you if you’re out for the day or go camping or fishing or whatever. Plus, you’ll want it to work if the power goes out or if you’re taking shelter!
Seriously consider getting one of these. Tornadoes are extremely difficult to see at night, and also can be very hard to see during the day! These radios can also warn you about flash flooding, earthquakes, winter weather, wind, amber alerts, and more.
For more information, check out your local National Weather Service office.
Back to your regularly scheduled blog posts!
What’s your favorite radio station?
Oh, by the way, for safety tips on severe weather, check out these posts:
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