By Rob Hanus
What if I told you there is a radio service available whose sole purpose is to bring the weather conditions to you, 24 hours a day/7 days a week, monitoring your local weather, alerting you anytime there was the threat of severe or dangerous weather in your area AND you could get this premium service for free?
It is the NOAA Weather Radio Service. The NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, broadcasts weather reports, current conditions, watches and warnings for your area, 24/7. You can pick up these broadcasts on receivers that are designed to tune into these weather radio frequencies. You can play the broadcast by simply pressing a button on the radio, but they can also be set up to quietly listen to the broadcast for an emergency alert signal. When the radio detects there is an emergency broadcast, it turns on the speaker so you can hear it.
This makes it very convenient to monitor changing weather conditions without having to be glued to the TV or radio, as the weather radio will turn on the speaker any time there’s something you need to know.
You can also get these weather radio frequencies on any radio that can tune into the following FM frequencies (like a VHF Ham radio or scanner):
162.400 162.450 162.500 162.550
162.425 162.475 162.525
In addition to weather information, by working with the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Alert System, these radios have become an “all hazards” information radio. These hazards include:
- Natural disasters (such as tornados, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes)
- Technological disaster events (such as chemical release, oil spills, nuclear power plant emergencies, maritime accidents, train derailments)
- AMBER alerts
- Terrorist attacks
You can find out more information about the NOAA Weather Radio, including coverage maps, SAME coding, what to look for in a radio and where to purchase one on the National Weather Service NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards website. The link is http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/
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Rob Hanus is the author of the book “The Preparedness Capability Checklist” which is an easy to read book with the absolute best method for intelligent and deliberate prepping. Rob is also host of the Preparedness Podcast.
You can get the Rob’s book here http://www.thepreparednesspodcast.com/capability-checklist/
and tune into Rob’s podcast here: http://www.thepreparednesspodcast.com/preparedness-podcast/
Marjory Wildcraft is an Expedition Leader and Bioneer Blogger with The [Grow] Network, which is an online community that recognizes the wisdom of “homegrown food on every table.” Marjory has been featured as an expert on sustainable living by National Geographic, she is a speaker at Mother Earth News fairs, and is a returning guest on Coast to Coast AM. She is an author of several books, but is best known for her “Grow Your Own Groceries” video series, which is used by more than 300,000 homesteaders, survivalists, universities, and missionary organizations around the world.
