A weather radio can save your life
By Nancy Jorgensen
Winter thunderstorms and tornadoes are reminders that the Midwest can offer up deadly wather at any time. Cheap and effective, weather radios offer up-to-date weather information when the storm comes.
Michael Hudson knows that if anyone’s in tune with the weather, it’s farmers. They spend a lot of time out in the weather, and their incomes depend on it. Hudson urges farmers and other rural residents to expand their weather savvy by tuning in to weather radios to alert them of dangerous conditions.
“Missouri faces extreme weather hazards in all seasons,” said Hudson, chief operating officer for the National Weather Service’s Central Region headquarters in Kansas City. He pointed out that ice storms and winter tornadoes devastated parts of the state in recent months, and other regional hazards include hail, wind, floods and heavy snow.
Hudson speaks frequently to groups of farmers and rural residents who live or work too far away to hear community-warning sirens. He recommends purchasing a special weather radio that links to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio service, which offers a 24-hour stream of weather information customized for your area. The National Weather Service is part of NOAA.
“The primary benefit of a weather radio is the early warning capability for severe weather,” Hudson said. “These radios are designed to sound an alarm whenever the National Weather Service issues a warning for extreme conditions. The warning gives you time to react and respond. Even a few minutes of early warning can make the difference in mitigating property damage, and possibly save your life.”
Hudson advises consumers to look for two features in a weather radio: battery back-up in case of power failure and Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology.
“SAME radios can be programmed to alert you of hazards that affect the county in which you live,” Hudson said. Until SAME technology was developed about 10 years ago, weather radio users were often awakened in the middle of the night with warnings affecting locations up to 40 miles away. SAME narrowed that radius, eliminating false alarms. “With SAME, when your radio does sound an alarm, you know it’s for your location.”
You can also program your radio to specify the hazards that you want
to hear about. Hudson lives on a hill, so he eliminated flash flood warnings from his menu.
The National Weather Service operates 38 weather-warning stations in Missouri, making it possible for 99 percent of state residents to receive weather radio alerts.
Weather radios are available starting at about $35. You can select a hand-held, portable receiver that you can carry as you work outside, travel in a car or tractor, or enjoy outdoor activities. Some portables also work as two-way radios. If you spend a little more, you can purchase a non-portable model with AM/FM and a clock radio. Units with plug-in and hand-crank battery chargers are available.
Hudson recommends that you monitor multiple sources of information during potentially significant weather. Since you can’t surf the media while you sleep, it’s a good idea to keep a weather radio by your bed so you can hear alerts in the middle of the night. Usually, the alarm warnings can be heard throughout the house.
“Living in rural areas presents a challenge since you do not have access to the networks of outdoor warning sirens that urban residents have,” Hudson said. “It becomes a personal responsibility to remain informed of potential weather hazards, and a weather radio receiver is a key component of a good plan.”
Within the next 5 to 10 years, Hudson predicts, new global positioning system technology will add further precision to weather radios, helping to save even more lives.
Buy a weather radio
You can probably purchase a weather radio in your local electronics retail store. Also, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers is based in Kansas City— Midland RadioCorp., www.midlandradio.com, (816) 241-8500. Midland and other brands are also available through the Weather Radio Store, www.weatherradiostore.com, (800) 414-8655. You’ll find a list of manufacturers on the National Weather Service Web site, www.weather.gov/nwr. Neither NWS nor this magazine endorses a particular vendor or brand.
Missouri electric co-ops help improve rural warning system Until the late 90s, most weather radio alert transmitters beamed their signals only to urban areas.
“Federal dollars ran out at the city limits,” said Jim McCarty, director of communications for the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives in Jefferson City.
That all changed more than a decade ago when a tornado hit a church in rural Alabama, killing several people. McCarty remembers how the tragedy prompted member-owned rural electric co-ops to band together to extend weather radio service. Working with the National Weather Service, the co-ops purchased transmitters and installed them on electric co-op communications towers. They donated thousands of weather radios to schools and libraries, and gave them as door prizes to members at co-op annual meetings.
“We waged a tremendous educational effort, advising people to buy the receivers,” McCarty said. “Electric co-ops were originally formed to provide electricity to farms when electricity stopped at the city limits, and this situation was similar. It all goes to our commitment to community.”
Michael Hudson of the National Weather Service lauded the electric co-ops’ efforts: “The Missouri association has been a national leader, donating time, money and resources. Without their help, we would not have the network we have today.” |
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