We are now in hurricane season, which started June 1 and runs until November 30. Actually, the further we get into the season, the greater the chances are for storms. According to the National Hurricane Center, September 10 is the peak day of the season. The most activity happens from late August through September. It’s more important than people realize, to be prepared and get hurricane information ahead of time.
Severe Weather Forecasts
All types of severe weather forecasts come from NOAA, which stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They provide daily weather forecasts and severe storm warnings. They do this by doing research and gathering data about the atmosphere, space, the sun, and the oceans.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) issues what they call a “Tropical Weather Outlook” four times a day. They give a two-day and five-day forecast of the storms. So, NOAA is part of NHC and vice versa. Whenever you want to see if any hurricanes or other storms have popped up in the Atlantic Ocean (or the Pacific Ocean), you just go to the NHC website.
At first the NHC will just call a storm that’s beginning to form a “Disturbance”. After that, if a storm starts to rotate and has a lot of clouds and thunderstorms inside, it falls under the category of “tropical cyclone”. Depending on the windspeed, a tropical cyclone can be a “Depression” (38 mph winds or less), or a “Tropical Storm” (39 to 73 mph winds). At the tropical storm stage it gets a name.
Then, you may start hearing about it on the news. When the winds get higher than 73 mph, the storm becomes a hurricane, categorized from 1 to 5 (157 mph or higher winds).
NOAA has something called NOAA Weather Radio (NWR), which is a nationwide network of radio stations that broadcast continuous weather information, that comes from your local National Weather Service office. There’s a pretty good chance you’ll be able to pick up one of these broadcasts no matter where you live.
The Importance of an Emergency Weather Radio
An Emergency Weather Radio, such as the FosPower Emergency Weather Radio, is what you need to pick up the NWR broadcast, which uses a VHF public service band. Your FosPower radio will alert you when there’s an emergency weather broadcast.
So, even if your cell phone stops working or your signal is lost, you’ll still get weather updates. The NWR broadcasts are given 24 hours a day and include current weather, any hazards, and hurricane watches and warnings. The information is about all types of hazards, including tsunamis, tornadoes, earthquakes, chemical release, oil spills, and even AMBER alerts for missing children.
These broadcasts come from more than 750 transmitter towers that the NOAA/NWR network has, covering 90% of the states, Pacific territories, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
You may also want to hear local news about what’s going on in your area. This is also an AM/FM radio, so you’ll get that news, especially when the power goes out and you can’t watch TV. You can switch back to the weather band at any time to get the official National Weather Service information.
Disaster Preparedness Plan
If you’re a true Prepper and survivalist you need to be prepared for all scenarios. The weather radio in your emergency survival kit should have more than one power source. This radio has three:
• Solar Power
• Battery Power – choose between 3 AAA Batteries or a built in Lithium-Ion battery.
• A Hand Crank for power.
This radio also produces an SOS signal – a nice loud siren sound that will definitely get people’s attention. It has 2 LED Light sources – a 4 LED reading light and a 1-Watt LED flashlight.
When fully charged, the radio operates as a power bank to recharge your cell phone battery. The radio is water resistant. You can’t actually submerge it into water, but it will be resistant to rain.
Every family should have one of these emergency radios in case the electricity goes out. During hurricanes and other severe storms, a power outage can happen fairly quickly. Ask someone who’s survived one of these storms and they’ll tell you the power outages can last from days to several weeks.
Key Features of This Radio
This radio has AM, FM, and Weather Bands.
The Radio has 3 power options – Solar Power, Battery Power, and Hand Crank.
Includes a Carabiner hook to attach it to your belt, survival bag, first aid kit, etc.
It has IPX3 Water Resistance, which means it protects against water spraying up to a 60° angle, such as rain.
It has both a flashlight and an LED reading light.
The radio comes with a limited lifetime warranty.
What do users like most about the FosPower NOAA Emergency Weather Radio?
Buyers say the radio is very well built and solid.
People say the radio is nice and compact, and easy to carry around, especially when compared to larger weather radios on the market.
Users say it’s small enough to put in a glovebox or carry in a bugout bag.
Users like all the different features.
One customer said the fully charged radio lasted for over two hours.
One buyer actually used this during a hurricane which resulted in a power outage that lasted 4 days. They found it amazing that the radio could be charged with solar power. Since it’s an actual AM/FM radio (besides a weather radio) they said that being able to listen to the news during the storm kept them calm and reassured. The also liked the fact that they could recharge their cell phone with it.
Is this worth buying?
Even if you haven’t assembled an emergency survival kit, you should have one of these radios. You never know when a weather disaster will happen. This radio has lots of features and is small enough to keep in lots of places. With 3 power sources, 2 light sources, AM, FM, and Weather bands, you’re well covered when a disaster happens. It’s also reasonably priced, so we think it’s something you should definitely buy and have on hand.
CLICK HERE for the Best Price Today on the FosPower NOAA Emergency Weather Radio
