Everyone Should Have One

"Better Safe than Sorry".  That's the way you should feel when this radio goes off for the 3rd time at 3 am for storms in and around your area.  At least that's the way I feel.  Since having children of my own, I've been more inclined to pay attention to the weather especially now as it seems weather patterns have become more violent over the past several years.  I recently took a National Weather Service weather spotter training class and was advised by the instructor (a NWS meteorologist) that everyone should have one of these.

This is the 4th Midland Public Alert Radio I have purchased.  One for myself, one for my parents and 2 for work.  Ironically, one at work was zapped by a lightning strike.  Each radio has performed as expected and have been reliable sources of important weather information.  It may seem odd that we complain some at the frequency of alerts especially when they are outside our immediate arera.  I however, have no expectation that any radio can be micro-programmed to only alert us when severe weather is going to effect only our home town or neighborhood.  The redundant alerts are expected as weather passes from one nearby area to the next.  Besides, you can always turn the radio off after severe weather passes if you can remember to turn the alerting function back on later.   In areas where there is an overlap in coverage from different reporting stations, you can program your SAME county code into the radio so it will only pick up signals from the station which reports weather watches and warnings for your area.  But remember, your area may include 5 or more surrounding counties so even that wont eliminate all the redundant alerts.

The biggest bonus this radio provides and the main reason these are recommended by weather service personnel is that they will alert you to approaching severe weather while you sleep.  Now it's true that there is a difference between a watch and a warning and some people don't want to loose sleep over a simple watch.  However, watches can turn to warnings in a short time so having that watch alert in the middle of the night is fine.  Even if the power is interrupted by a storm, the battery backup will provide full functionality.