I’ve been giving you lots of information of what you can do NOW to prepare for an emergency - - the following is a piece of equipment that I would suggest you invest in for one of the types of disasters that we are susceptible in this area - - SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

In a potentially dangerous severe-weather situation one of the quickest ways to receive the latest information on the threat is through a NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards receiver.

Weather radios come in many sizes, with a variety of functions and costs. The price of a battery-operated portable or AC-powered desktop NOAA Weather Radio receiver is about $30. A weather radio provides you instant access to the same life saving information used by emergency personnel and first responders and is provided and routinely updated by National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service, and the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management recommend that every home have as standard equipment a NOAA Weather Radio receiver. We recommend that you purchase a weather radio receiver, equipped with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology, which will activate an audible and/or visual alarm when the NWS issues Watches and Warnings for life-threatening conditions expected for your local area. [This will help you receive information for our local area only and not the entire state – unless that is an interest of yours!]

During either a severe weather warning or a civil emergency, National Weather Service forecasters will interrupt routine weather radio programming and send out a special tone that activates weather radios receivers in the listening area. NOAA Weather Radio now broadcasts warning and post-event information for all types of hazards. They are especially valuable in places that are prone to tornado activities.

Through the NOAA Weather Radio, you’ll not only receive emergency information, but also around-the-clock weather reports and information to help you prepare for the day ahead. The hearing- and visually impaired also can get these warnings by connecting weather radios with alarm tones to other kinds of attention-getting devices like strobe lights, pagers, bed-shakers, personal computers and text printers. A battery-operated NOAA Weather Radio can provide emergency notification during power outages whether at home, at work, traveling, on vacation or at play.

“To purchase a NOAA Weather Radio, check with stores that sell electronics,” according to NWS officials. “The NWS recommends that at a minimum, weather radio receivers should have the tone alert capability, battery back-up and ability to receive all seven frequencies.” More information is available through the Weather Service’s NOAA Weather Radio Web Site: www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr.