News 14 Carolina Chief Meteorologist Jeff Crum says weather alert radios – which send out warnings from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – can warn people when TV viewers aren’t watching.
CHARLOTTE -- Minutes or even seconds of extra warning time could have helped residents in Gaston County when they were hit by destructive storms early Friday morning. One way some keep an easy and inexpensive ear on what’s going on in the sky is with a weather alert radio.
“They will beep really, really loud to alert you, to wake you up,” said Sherri Paul of Radio Shack in regards to the radio’s alert system. “They will start talking to let you know what is going on so you have time to prepare.”
That extra time to prepare can be the difference between life and death when storms like those seen Friday morning roll through. No one was killed in Gaston Co. by the weather system, but one man in the Triad died while asleep in a small truck as powerful storms and a tornado hit the area.
Minutes or even seconds of extra warning time could have helped residents in Gaston County when they were hit by destructive storms early Friday morning. One way some keep an easy and inexpensive ear on what’s going on in the sky is with a weather alert radio.
News 14 Carolina Chief Meteorologist Jeff Crum says weather alert radios – which send out warnings from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – can warn people when TV viewers aren’t watching.
"Overnight hours are every weather man’s worst nightmare in terms of the viewing public because folks are asleep and we can't get information to them,” said Crum. “Weather alert radios are something that probably every home needs.”
The devices can range from $20-60 a piece.