Inclement Weather -- Staying On Top of News

[Newbienac]

Hello Everyone. Well it's official now. We just got back from a 2.5 day camping experience in my new (1991) Toyota Dolphin at Three-River State Park in NorthWest Florida. Hot water wouldn't ignite, but that was the worst. Here's my question for you in light of that 8-wheeler that turned on it's side in gusts of 66-plus in Idaho yesterday

What does everyone do to stay "current" with weather moving in and out of towns? I DO have a S.A.M.E. weather alert, but I just can't imagine having to program every step of the way (yeah, even a bit silly sounding to me); but yet, it seems equally silly to expect to hear current weather on a local radio station.

Do we pretty much rely upon our IPADs/computers/TVs for the current 24 hour forecasting? I'm preparing, now, to go cross-country come end of April. Ya know, it's never the tough questions that get me (because I don't know what they are lolol), it's the seemingly logical ones.... Thanks for your patience with me as I learn...

Beth
First Voyage last week! Whooohoooo
1991 Dolphin Toyota, V6/R22

[Newbienac]

Woow, these are awesome tips, thank you. Weatherbug is a must check out. and I appreciate the tip on checking the counties adjacent that night or nextd ay. Boy I tell you what. --- all of this information and things one has to THINK about is like, learning how to "live" all stupid over again lolol...

I appreciate all of your great responses, and I REALLY am so thankful for this great site!

Beth

[sdianel_-acct_c]

We use www.weather.com and look at the 5 and 10 day forecasts. We check the weather where we are, then the weather at our next stop. I do this the night before so we can decide if we want to stay another day or go to the next stop. Look for severe weather forecast in the menu. When we arrive at the next stop, I scan the weather radio for "all" broadcasts and select the strongest station. I find out what county we're in and locate it on the atlas and look at what counties are adjacent. If the weather radio alerts to storms they usually say the alert county and what direction the storm is moving. We also watch the weather on TV to get the national weather. Most storms move from the southwest to the northeast. If we see storms heading our way we either hunker down and stay put or move to avoid it.

[rk911]

Newbienac wrote:
Hello Everyone. Well it's official now. We just got back from a 2.5 day camping experience in my new (1991) Toyota Dolphin at Three-River State Park in NorthWest Florida. Hot water wouldn't ignite, but that was the worst. Here's my question for you in light of that 8-wheeler that turned on it's side in gusts of 66-plus in Idaho yesterday

What does everyone do to stay "current" with weather moving in and out of towns? I DO have a S.A.M.E. weather alert, but I just can't imagine having to program every step of the way (yeah, even a bit silly sounding to me); but yet, it seems equally silly to expect to hear current weather on a local radio station.

Do we pretty much rely upon our IPADs/computers/TVs for the current 24 hour forecasting? I'm preparing, now, to go cross-country come end of April. Ya know, it's never the tough questions that get me (because I don't know what they are lolol), it's the seemingly logical ones.... Thanks for your patience with me as I learn...

Beth
First Voyage last week! Whooohoooo
1991 Dolphin Toyota, V6/R22

we do a couple of things while driving...

- we listen to local AM radio, FM if no AM stations can be heard.

- we have a weather alert radio that will activate when a warning is issued and we don't seem to need to program it. it's a part of our CB radio (which is always on Ch 19). I've had it for years and as I recall it scans the wx channels and will open when it detects the emergency alert tones.

- we have severe weather apps on our cell phones which will alert us...if we have cell coverage (that's why we also carry the weather alert radio).

- we don't start out driving if the forecast is for heavy winds. and if I feel the winds getting too rough we stop for the night.

[loggenrock]

If you have a weather radio already with SAME technology, you are on the right track...meaning you have a weather radio that will alert you when NOAA sends a warning. You do NOT, however, need to program it constantly when travelling. Just set it to open for ANY tone, not just SAME, which is county-specific. We keep one on our dash, and if bad weather threatens (watch the sky...), just choose which of the 8 pre-set frequencies (channels) comes in clearest. When we get to camp in the evening, I do the same thing - choose the best channel and it will alert to awaken us if an activation is sent - again, NOT a SAME (Specific Area Messaging...), just any alert it "hears" will turn it on. If I am truly concerned about the weather overnight, I check a paper map (yep, they still print em and I still use em!) to see what COUNTY I am in, and what the surrounding counties, usually to the south and west, where bad weather tends to move in from, are, so when the radio alerts and gives counties under watch or warning I know if I need to beat feet or hunker down. A bit of effort for piece of mind. If you have a smartphone, one of the very few apps I bought is called OnGuard (think it was $1) - it tracks your location based on the phone GPS and alerts for watches/warnings for the county you are in. Can vouch it works well - have used it travelling cross-country in the spring thru tornado alley - more piece of mind! The limitation of OnGuard is it will only notify you for the county you are in, not adjacent counties, so you don't get as much lead time. Hope this helps! ST

[TucsonJim]

^^^ X2 ^^^ on Weatherbug.

[doxiemom11]

We used google and request the 10 day forecast for whatever city/state. There are many choices that come up, but they show current condition, forecast conditions, special alerts or watches and warnings and most have radar you can view.

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

I use the "WeatherBug" app on my smarthphone and tablet. It gives me alerts warnings regarding bad weather in the area we are located or traveling through.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

[down_home]

We have a NOAH weather alert radio.
It is supposed to give us local weather alerts wherever we are.
I've got a CB, waiting to be installed, for four years, with weather band on it. I think the dash radio has weather.
Sure wish we had it on three years ago or so. hit winds in Tx, Okla through Kansas. About 70mph. We kept trucking along, at about 20 mph, on the shoulder, when we met traffic. When we finally turned east we got terrific fuel mileage. Would you believe 25 mpg in a Class A diesel?
I don't either.

[MrWizard]

we watch the local weather news and check the internet
IF it gets to windy while driving, i just find someplace to pull over and wait a few hours for it to settle down

[Horizon170]

My CB radio has 7 weather channels and we keep up with the weather on that when traveling. Otherwise Satellite TV weather channel and Dish has a feature where I can go to any major city and get the current weather.

[mena661]

I use the TV and whatever mobile device for news.

[RoyB]

When camping off the power grid we find watching the NATL BROACAST digital TV using my OTA BATWING antenna from the local towns works out great for us. There is always a 24/7 live radar channel.

All of the TV NEWS programing is for the local area you are in...

This coupled with the NOAH WX ALERT radio gives us all the warnings we need. My WX RADIO is a $15 WX ALERT RADIO Model 12-260 from Radio Shack. This radio is hardwired into my trailer 12VDC battery system and is always ON when camping. It finds the local NOAH WX station when you first turn it on at the camp ground..


Roy Ken