A Weather Radio may seem like a low-tech and superfluous solution, but it's not. I can hear you saying to yourself as you read this; "No thanks, I watch the Weather Channel, plus I've got my phone for alerts, and that works just fine for me." Problem is that may not always be the case. Sometimes you're in an area with poor cell coverage, or even worse, none at all. Cell towers can be down in an emergency as they often involve extended power outages and destructive forces, and sometimes emergencies happen in the dead of night, when you're dead asleep. That's where these devices really shine, and why you need them. They’re loud, automatic, and work everywhere. Ours is so loud it scares the crap out of us even in a deep sleep, and that's what you want in an emergency. Plus, the broadcast is free, once you buy the radio, you're protected, no subscription necessary, unlike your phone.
So, now that I've proven to you that they're a necessity (I hope), here's what you need:
You should have a tabletop model for your home that plugs in to AC power and has battery backup, because you want it on all the time. You also want SAME technology, which allows you to tailor the reporting areas and categories, so the alarm/siren isn't going off for stuff that's either too far out of your area, or your area of interest. The Midland WR120B NOAA Weather and Emergency Alert Radio is a very good choice for this one. It's affordable, easy to set up and gives you very clear and readable information, both alerts and up to the minute weather reports for your area. It also has simple color-coded warning lights. There are no AM or FM bands on this one, but I'm good with that. If that's a deal breaker for you, the next model up, the Midland WR400, does have both AM and FM, plus a few other tricks up its sleeve. It's a little more expensive, and a tiny bit harder to set up and read, but it's a very good option as well.
For a portable, you want something like the Givoust 8000mah NOAA radio. This one makes the top of every camping and emergency preparedness list out there. It has excellent reception and battery life, plus the batteries are rechargeable via USB, solar and crank power. It also has SAME technology. and it has an "Alerts Only" setting, so you can keep it on without running down the power. It also has AM and FM bands, a couple of lights, and multiple charging ports for your phones. It's perfect for both travel and to have on hand at home for those really long power outages.
NOAA weather radios not only broadcast the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast but also the Emergency Alert System (EAS), so these radios will alert you to a myriad of things besides just severe weather: Natural disasters, AMBER alerts, terrorist attacks, chemical releases and spills, nuclear power plant emergencies, the list goes on and on, and that SAME technology I mentioned earlier allows you to custom tailor which ones trigger the siren feature, e.g. I don't want to be woken up for a Required Monthly Test, no thanks, lemme sleep, but a nuclear meltdown? Yes please, shake me and wake me. I'm not gonna lie, self-preservation and sleep are my things, and always in that exact order. Note: most of the emergency events are on by default and can't be disabled, but that's a good thing, as my friend Martha always says. The tailoring you do will be mostly area related. Here's a link to the list of EAS Alerts received by these radios, you can see it's pretty comprehensive and there are very few types you'd want to mess with: EAS Selectable Alerts
So, a tabletop and a portable Weather Radio will run you less than a Hundo combined, and I'd say that's a pretty cheap price for both safety and peace of mind. Order them now, don't delay, it's not nice to fool with Mother Nature, she always comes out on top.
That is all.
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