How to Choose a Weather Radio

A weather radio can make the difference between a close call and a tragedy in a severe weather event. Meteorologists often stress the importance of having a weather radio. Even so, I would venture to guess most people who read this do not own a weather radio. So why do you need a weather radio and what should you consider when shopping for a weather radio.

Importance of Weather Radios

Weather radios are one of the most important weapons in your weather safety arsenal. They get you warnings and alerts directly from the National Weather Service as fast as possible. Since they run on batteries your weather radio will operate when your electricity does not. Many dangerous storms that cause casualties occur at night. This is because people often do not get the warnings while they are sleeping. A weather radio will solve this by awakening you presumably before the dangerous storm strikes. If you travel it may be difficult to find a radio station that gives up to date weather alerts, this is solved with a weather radio. The importance of weather safety while enjoying outdoor activities such as camping can not be stressed enough. Timely alerts are important in all types of weather events including floods, snowstorms and thunderstorms.

Considerations when buying a weather radio

A weather radio can run from twenty dollars to hundreds of dollars. When I buy electronics the first thing I want to know is what makes the more expensive ones so special?

Strength of signal

The reception you get with your radio will depend on your location. If you are within thirty miles or so of your nearest National Weather Service office I have found that a cheap home version will get good reception. If you are not within this range or plan to travel with your weather radio you should look into a better model.

SAME technology

SAME (specific area message encoding) is the most important distinguishing feature I have found between the cheapest models and one you will pay a little more for. A weather radio with SAME technology will run at least forty dollars. What is SAME? This is what allows you not to be woken up by an annoying alarm over a severe thunderstorm warning two hundred miles to the south of you! You put a code into these weather radios that will make it so it only goes off for alerts in your county or your portion of the county.

Power source

A weather radio will have the option to power by battery or plug in. Most take two or three AA batteries. These are fine if you have a reliable battery charger. If you want to take your weather radio on outdoor excursions a hand held model with a hand crank generator is useful. You will find the cheapest hand held models will not have SAME and have cranks that break easily.

Other optional features

Weather radios come with all kinds of gadgets for those who want them. Home versions can often serve double duty as alarm clocks. Many weather radios can be used as regular AM/FM receivers. This is handy to take on trips or for extended periods of power outages. The weather enthusiast can get models with built in weather stations. Cell phone chargers are becoming more common on weather radios. There are even models that light up with different colors during an alert, have CB frequencies, and are waterproof.

The most important factors when choosing a weather radio are does it have SAME technology and the power supply. Like any other product your specific uses and tastes will have to be considered when choosing your weather radio. There are consumer review web sites that can help you determine which model will be right for you. They can be purchased at most stores where electronics are sold. If you want a wider selection of weather radios you will have to shop on line. I have found that you can get a reliable home based weather radio with SAME for around forty dollars.