[zenjenn]

So I went out and bought a "instant weather alarm radio", assuming this would be what I need? Well it has a radio alarm, and then you can click instant weather, but there's nothing that has the alarm wake you up if there's severe weather (just a normal clock radio part) I thought that waking you up in severe weather was the point. AND the radio part doesn't operate on the backup battery.

Am I missing something?

I hope the sirens are loud enough.

[Bravo35223]

Originally Posted by zenjenn

So I went out and bought a "instant weather alarm radio", assuming this would be what I need? Well it has a radio alarm, and then you can click instant weather, but there's nothing that has the alarm wake you up if there's severe weather (just a normal clock radio part) I thought that waking you up in severe weather was the point. AND the radio part doesn't operate on the backup battery.

Am I missing something?

I hope the sirens are loud enough.

Return it to the store and buy one of these....a siren, light or voice (your choice) will alert you when there is a warning in your area.

And it has the new SAME technology, that narrows down the storm path to a more specific area. Translation: if there is a storm somewhere in North Alabama but not on a PATH toward your specific location - it will not go off. Reduce the number of false alarms.

The Channel 13 weatherman demonstrated the new SAME technology on TV last week. All of the radar systems are going to it....

$55 plus shipping...for this Midland unit....probably a lot better than the RadioShack...I am surprised it did not have an storm alert/alarm.

Public Alert Weather Radio with SAME and AM/FM Model WR300

It will receive broadcasts from the transmitters in your area (from the National Weather Service) and sound an alarm to wake you up...

BTW the National Weather Service Office in North Alabama is state-of-the-art. After the bad tornado hit 20 years ago, the congressman from your district saved that office from being closed down when they were downsizing and made sure it had the latest and greatest technology....

[Threestep2]

It will be fine. The sirens will have you standing in bed. Do you have enough food for Goldie, water and some snacks?

[Bravo35223]

I can tell you are a little worried about this....

Save this link in your favorites....it is your local Nexrad radar and works great...

Current Hytop Nexrad Radar Map : Weather Underground

[Keeper]

you can get a midland for 30.00 at Southern Market. It isn't a 'radio' that picks up music, just weather.
I have a siren less than a block away and if I am a sleep I don't hear it, although we have only had just warnings since I lived here.

[Socal2Bham]

Originally Posted by Bravo35223

I have a two acre dense forest in my back yard that is beautiful.....but out of reach!

So do we! None of the pines overhang where our cars are parked but there are about 8 medium size ones in front that could potentially hit the house if they fell that direction which is why he wants to cut them down. I've been fighting him on it because I can't stand the thought of cutting a tree down and the front would be so barren without them but I would NEVER hear the end of it if one did fall and damage the house.

Hmmm, I can't say that I've ever heard any sirens, since we moved away from downtown. I wonder if we are in earshot of them. We have a bazillion windows, no basement, and there really isn't an 'interior' to the house so not sure what we would do if a tornado were to come near us. Probably get in the tub.

We would really like to get a generator too. We seem to lose power a lot. Sometimes for no visible reason? Do they make refrigerators with their own internal generator? Would be nice to have as a back-up in the garage.

As soon as I start to see those guys with their trucks and firewood on the side of the road again I think I'll stock up on wood.

[AnyDayNow]

Originally Posted by Socal2Bham

I wonder if we are in earshot of them. We have a bazillion windows, no basement, and there really isn't an 'interior' to the house so not sure what we would do if a tornado were to come near us. Probably get in the tub.

lol, we have the same situation. Whenever I think about a bad storm, I try to figure out how I would get all of us(furkids included) into the tub.

[NicoleC]

Oh, I HOPE we get some good rain tonight. And I don't mean the So Cal "STORM OF THE CENTURY!!!" type. I got 1/2" last night.

ZJ - chill. I freaked out in the first one, too, the more so because I have just closed on my house that afternoon and I was staying in a house 2 hours away. And the TV was showing all these tornadoes and damage where the new house was. I was fine, house was fine, no problem.

The first couple of tornado warnings here I realized I, too, did not have an "interior" area. The best I could do was the bathroom on the east side of the house with a 2'x2' closet between me and the outside wall. The dog was confused, the cat was pissed; I watched the storm on my laptop with wireless connection.

The weather radios are great because you don't have to lose any sleep over bad weather. They'll wake you up.

Now I have the storm shelter under the house and I don't even have to go outside to get in it, and there's plenty of room for me, the furkids and practically the whole neighborhood.

But let this be your wake-up call: the So Cal 3 day earthquake kit? You need one here, too, even more so. Food, water, shelter and meds for everyone. Entertainment for the kiddies. Etc.

Plus the generator, that you DON'T need in So Cal. I have a spiffy Honda generator to keep the freezer and coffee pot going. (And the space heater, too, if the gas fireplace doesn't work.) As expensive as the nice portable Honda's are, when you have $1500 worth of meat in the $700 freezer, and a cheap non-inverter generator can ruin your freezer over time... the math wasn't hard. Don't forget the gas and Sta-Bil.

Okay, question... if you have a gas water heater with no pilot light... you wouldn't have hot water if the power was out, would you?

[zenjenn]

I'm not *freaking* just intrigued and a bit anxious.

I did get my real weather radio finally. That other thing was a piece of crap (I got my money back). I had to pay $40 for it but after dragging the kiddos to the store twice, it was worth the extra 10 bucks not to schlepp everyone around some more.

I have all sorts of plans once we get our house - including a small tornado shelter. I was kind of hoping that it'd be a bit longer before a storm hit. I just moved here 2 weeks ago, so I don't have much, but enough juice and snacks for everyone, and a sizable first aid kit that I had packed in the van for the road trip.

[NicoleC]

Okay, maybe "freaking" was the wrong word, sorry.

I hope you get a good one. Thunderstorms are great to watch, at least from the vantage point of a covered porch when you don't have to be anywhere.