Emergency Severe Weather Notifications

[cmcdar]

Spent six hours plus last night in Severe Thunderstorms and Tornado Watches and Warnings.

The thing that troubles me the most is - the LACK of notification. We did get notified by one of the Campground Hosts.

Last year, this exact time, my cell phone blared out and alarm and then an audible announcement. We knew of the Tornado Watch hours before the camp host came by.

I did get a notice regarding the thunderstorms BUT no such notice of the Tornado Watch.

I know I can purchase a stationary Weather Radio and I still might BUT I am traveling out of state and it is difficult to find out current county location and re-program the radio everytime we stop.

I have an android phone and I have spent hours searching thru Google Play for apps but all seemed to require constant data/internet connection.

I do have WEA enabled on my phone but I am troubled that I was NOT NOTIFIED regarding the Tornado Watch then Tornado Warning.

Anyone found a solution?

[mgirardo]

I have found that Severe Weather Alerts are not always useful. Summer 2015 there was a severe thunderstorm warning while we were camping. The warning made mention of possible tornadoes many miles from where we were, but there was no mention of 80 mph gusting winds which we did receive. No tornado according to the NWS. This past summer, we received so many warnings it got ridiculous, because only a handful of them actually panned out. In a few of those cases the warnings came out shortly before the event hit.

Our Motorhome radio has weather built into it and it automatically switches to the nearest NOAA station when we travel. I use Weather Underground's weather app and their Storm app on my Android based phone. I use 2 of the WU's weather app widgets. One that always shows where I am and one that shows where I live. That way I get notices for both home and where we are. If we are home, I only get 1 alert. Yes, they require a data connection, but they don't use much and I'd rather risk going over on data than losing my camper or life to a storm I wasn't aware was coming.

-Michael

[cmcdar]

STBRetired wrote:
I have the weather alert radio and there is nothing to program when you change locations. The only reason you need to know the county is that the Weather Service will issue warnings for counties and you need to know what county you are in to know if it applies to you. Sometimes I remember to ask when I check in, most times I don't. If there is an alert, I can Google for the county map for whatever state I am in, or for the specific county mentioned in the alert. Most of the time, I just pull up the weather app on my phone as it always is centered wherever I am.

Thanks for the info. Do you have the brnd name and model number? Thanks.

[RoyB]

Type in WX RADIO AMAZON on-line Google search.... many to pick from...

Even my Radio Shack model was there last time I looked... Midland Brand seems to be very popular models...

SEARS sells the hand held Midland shown in above above that has the READOUT for events. I like that idea...

Midland HH54VP Portable Emergency Weather Radio with SAME (Black) $54

Roy Ken

[Johno02]

We just usually depend on watching whatever local TV stations that we can pick up on our batwing antenna. Weather alerts on cell phone, and weather via local NOAA stations when available. NOAA is not available in many locations. Also, stay aware of forecasts in local area n advance. In tornado country, many times there is no warning. If it really worries you, and in-ground shelter is the best place to stay.

[wa8yxm]

Some facilities, (IE: Many schools) by law have weather radios set up and working, In the event of an alert the school management will decide if the students need to be warned, In the event of a Tornado WARNING that will happen. but a Watch or a Thundrstorm.. Might not.. Depends on the state and the school.

Campgrounds are not, far as I know, REQUIRED to have a weather radio set up and it is possible the hosts may not know of the approaching storm.

I have such a radio but usually.. NO SIGNAL where I am now (It works on occasion) I have multiple weather apps on my phone. Those have worked well. NOAA is my favorite that and RADAR NOW.. Both also give Amber alerts and other alerts. Phone insists I acknowledge reading the alert.

[n0arp]

If you really are interested in being prepared and informed about anything, check out something like the Uniden BCD436HP. Expensive, but far more powerful than a just a weather radio. We have the BCD536HP, the non-portable version, mounted in the truck.

[MarkTwain]

cmcdar wrote:
Spent six hours plus last night in Severe Thunderstorms and Tornado Watches and Warnings.



I know I can purchase a stationary Weather Radio and I still might BUT I am traveling out of state and it is difficult to find out current county location and re-program the radio everytime we stop.


Anyone found a solution?

Yes, buy a Midland weather radio. It will give your notifications of severe weather in surrounding counties and can battery operated.

[cmcdar]

THANKS for all of the responses so far.

I am moving to a different campground today so I am not able to stay completely on the thread.

I'll start by qualifying I am ANAL about being PREPARED.

I have walkie talkie radios with NOAA so I can check the weather while cycling. I have weather APPS up the Ying Yang in an attempt to be notified. I have Emergency portable, wind up, flashlight, etc. that we took to the shelter with us.

I am not ALWAY online or plugged in or running a data connection on my phone.

With all this 'taking responsibility for myself' I was NOT NOTIFIED.

I am not asking for sympathy. I am asking for INFORMATION.

The storm was coming in the darkness of night. I just getting ready for bed.

It would be nice to know if anyone has a Brand name of NOAA radio that will auto scan and or an android app that does not rely on being connected to the internet to be able to sound an alarm and wake me during the night.

THANKS SO MUCH IN ADVANCE - now off to a new campground.

[azdryheat]

I use MyRadar app on my phone. MyRadar shows Doppler radar and gives severe weather warnings. I check it quite often if there is storm coming. I used it last Feb to check the status of a storm with tornadoes coming at us when we spent the night in Pensacola. It gave us plenty of warning to pack up and leave the area. I have since learned that if there is a low pressure winter storm system that develops in Calif and heads east through AZ, NM, and TX it will gain in strength and ferocity by the time it hits LA, MS, AL, FL and it's time to get outta Dodge. This past week and New Year's weekend, there was a low that blew through CA, AZ, NM and TX. This morning's news said four were killed by a tornado in AL from this storm. Gotta pay attention to the weather.

I don't rely on someone telling me to pack up. I keep myself advised of what 's going on. It's called situational awareness; knowing what's going on around you. Kept me alive during my cop career. Stay alert, stay advised, stay safe.

[jnharley]

We have an Oregon Scientific weather radio and we set it up at each stop for the county we are in. it is easy to set up and we have an atlas and when an alert comes in, we look to see where the alert is in relation to our location. We are currently on the Gulf Coast of MS and were under a tornado watch all day along with several severe thunderstorm warnings. The campground never notified us and we have only been notified by campground personnel once before in all our years of camping. A weather radio does not depend on an internet signal and for us, is an essential camping must have.

[Dutch_12078]

I've found the "Weather Radio" app on our Android cell phones to work quite well for giving us selected warnings based on our GPS location. We do have a battery/plug-in weather radio on board, but rarely use it any more since the phone app works no matter where we are, including when away from the RV.

[DutchmenSport]

We purchased a set of these: Click here. Not for the weather feature, but because we wanted a set of walkie-talkies. These have worked great for us! Not just for backing the trailer and keeping in contact with my lovely "spotter", but we use them in the grocery store, when I'm in the garage and she's in the house and nearing lunch time, or if we are traveling and one goes inside a store and the other stays in the car/truck.

We did learn they do not have a 22 mile range, more like 1 mile. (we tested them across the fields behind our house). Direct line of site was a little over a mile. In the woods, if the trees are too thick, the range can be much shorter, and if someone goes into a valley, the signal can get lost between the 2 "talkies". It's also fun to leave them turned on when traveling and get snipits of someone else's conversation too.

But, after we got them, we (then) realized they have the weather band feature. I use that all the time time now! Works great! I love "gadgets" that can multi-task!

[n0arp]

Weather radio. Or something else that can scan these frequencies, like a scanner, higher end FRS/GMRS radio, or even some CBs.

[Chuck_thehammer]

I am new to smart phones.. like 12/26/16.. my flip phone died on Christmas day. 2 1/2 years old.
first app installed was weather... last night got message, Rain will arrive at 8pm. I have metered internet.. so every Bite costs money.

I am 1,800 miles from home.

but also have windup weather radio.. for BAD stuff.. its like 6 years old.

Your Life, Your responsibility. my opinion.

Ham radio operator since early 1970's. NWS weather observer almost forever.

[dahkota]

We use Radar Now on our Android phones. It uses your GPS location for updates. We get notifications for watches and loud notifications for warnings. It even gives us wind warnings. It is free for the basic version with ads.