Severe Weather Awareness 2018: Weather Radio and Mobile Alert Apps

Today's Severe Weather Awareness Week topic covers a couple of ways of receiving warning information - NOAA Weather Radio and mobile alert apps. We have always advocated for having multiple ways to receive warnings, as no one solution is fool-proof or immune from dissemination issues.

Weather radio is the voice of the National Weather Service. It provides continuous weather information 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The nationwide network of weather radio stations provides the public with the fastest most reliable source of up-to-date weather information directly from the National Weather Service. You need a special radio to receive weather radio broadcasts, a radio that is capable of receiving signals in the very high frequency public service band.

Broadcasts may vary, but generally include area forecasts, present weather conditions, short-term forecasts, climatic data, river and lake stage forecasts, and other specialized information. The broadcasts are updated continuously. Weather radio is useful anytime, but it is most important when severe weather threatens. During periods of severe weather, routine programming is interrupted, and the focus shifted to the local severe weather threat. In an emergency, a warning alarm tone is broadcast that activates specially designed receivers to turn on automatically, or to produce a visual or audible alarm.

A typical NOAA Weather Radio console setup in an NWS office.

MemphisWeather.net strongly encourages every home to have a NOAA Weather Radio.  These devices are as important as smoke detectors and possess the same capability to save your life in the middle of the night.  Specifically, our favorites are from Midland and include the basic desktop version (WR-120, pictured at top).  It can be purchased at retailers such as Walgreen's, Kroger, and other discount stores, as well as online retailers like Amazon for about $30-40. Learn more about NOAA Weather Radio on MWN's Weather Radio page.

Alternative to Weather Radio - Mobile Apps

One problem with Weather Radio and warnings sirens for that matter is that they alert on a COUNTY-wide basis, even if the warning issued by the National Weather Service is for only a small portion of the county. To know if YOUR LOCATION is in the warned area, we highly recommend our personalized weather warning service, StormWatch+, which can be added to our MWN mobile apps for iPhone and Android.  StormWatch+ pairs the NWS polygons (or warning boxes that are drawn irrespective of county borders) with your GPS-provided location to send push notifications in the event that YOU are in harm's way. No more alerts when the storm is 20-30 miles away and not a threat to your area! Learn more about StormWatch+ at StormWatchPlus.com and get personalized weather alerts in the palm of your hand!

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Follow MWN on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+
Visit MemphisWeather.net on the web or m.memphisweather.net on your mobile phone.
Download our iPhone or Android apps, featuring StormWatch+ severe weather alerts!

MWN is a NOAA Weather Ready Nation Ambassador

Meteorologist Erik Proseus is an NWA Digital Seal Holder

Severe Weather Awareness 2018: Severe Thunderstorms

There are approximately 2,000 thunderstorms in progress around the world at any given time. Most of these storms are beneficial and bring needed rain. Only a small fraction, less than one percent, are classified as severe. Severe thunderstorms are those thunderstorms that produce hail one inch in diameter or larger or strong wind gusts of 58 mph or greater. Hail that is one inch in diameter is about the size of a quarter. A small fraction of these thunderstorms produce tornadoes. All thunderstorms are capable of producing deadly lightning. The heavy rains or the lightning activity in a thunderstorm do not have anything to do with a thunderstorm being classified as severe. Some of the severe thunderstorms safety rules are as follows:

• Find shelter immediately. Go to a sturdy building that will withstand high winds. Avoid electrical appliances and telephones.
• It would be a good idea to bring your car inside a garage and to secure loose objects.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means that conditions are right for severe thunderstorms to develop, but none have been observed. People should keep an eye on the sky and listen to commercial broadcasts or NOAA Weather Radio for any subsequent warnings.

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning means that a severe thunderstorm is occurring. The severe thunderstorm has been detected by Doppler radar, or reported to the National Weather Service by our Skywarn Spotter Network, or the local law enforcement agency in a particular county.

When a Severe Thunderstorm Warning is issued for your location, treat it the same as you would a Tornado Warning. Severe thunderstorms can produce damaging winds, large hail, and deadly lightning and will occasionally produce a tornado, particularly in very strong squall lines, where a brief tornado can occur with little notice.

MemphisWeather.net's "Storm Center" is your one-stop shop for severe weather information. The MWN Storm Center includes Mid-South radar, a clickable watch/warning map that updates as new alerts are issued by the NWS, recent storm reports, maps outlining severe risk areas from the severe weather experts at the Storm Prediction Center, and severe weather safety tips. If you are looking for information on severe weather in the Mid-South, the MWN Storm Center is the place to start!

Also, don't forget our mobile severe weather alerting tool that capitalizes on the convenience of mobile app technology! StormWatch+ will alert you if you are in the path of the storm via mobile phone, even if you are asleep. In addition, the StormWatch+ EnRoute feature will alert you if you drive into a severe weather warning! StormWatch+ is available within the MWN mobile apps for Android and iOS devices. Learn more or download the app by visiting StormWatchPlus.com on your computer or mobile device.

Severe wind reports (58+ mph) in the Mid-South by month. Most high wind reports occur in spring and summer, though they can occur in any month. Courtesy NWS-Memphis.

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Follow MWN on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+
Visit MemphisWeather.net on the web or m.memphisweather.net on your mobile phone.
Download our iPhone or Android apps, featuring StormWatch+ severe weather alerts!

MWN is a NOAA Weather Ready Nation Ambassador

Meteorologist Erik Proseus is an NWA Digital Seal Holder