By Emily Woodbury
As RVers, we often travel in places where disaster may strike, and sometimes we may not even know what’s headed our way. Below, I’ve outlined a few resources that you might find helpful. If you know anyone in any “at risk” areas, pass this information along to them, too.
The National Hurricane Center is something we may all be familiar with right now as we painfully watch Irma take small islands off the map. This site, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will update you on all current and potential hurricanes, and where and when they will strike.
Tornado HQ allows you to plug in your current location, and check if any tornado warnings are, or were, in effect.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center shows any current tsunami dangers.
Incident Information System shows every current wildfire, its size, and any closures related to that fire. Fires can be sorted by state, size, or forest.
The National Weather Service is a reliable source for all current weather advisories. It tracks hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods, thunderstorms, dust storms and rip tides.
NOAA Radio Broadcasts provide a list of radio stations in each state with current weather conditions.
Email and SMS weather alerts, also from NOAA, allow you to receive both text and email updates when there are weather alerts in your area.
If for some reason you find yourself unable to connect to the internet to check any of these sources, the Midland Emergency Radio is ideal for emergency weather alerts. My dad, while on the road, uses his often.
Stay informed, stay alert, and be safe.
##RVT811 ##RVDT1360
Good information especially the sites with tornado warnings and wildfires. I’ve found the Midland radio not quite so useful because it often gives you counties and county roads and try to find what county you’re in or where the county road is on your Atlas when there are angry skies bearing down. I also found the battery on the Midland radio runs down very quickly if I keep it set to alert. Maybe it’s just my unit.
Load an app called “where am i”
There are excellent weather apps that follow you that include warnings and watches for your current location. I really like “Storm.”