Do you have a NOAA Weather Radio?  If not, you may want to consider purchasing one to protect your family.  A NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards transmitters broadcast on one of seven VHF frequencies from 162.400 MHz to 162.550 MHz. The broadcasts cannot be heard on a simple AM/FM radio receiver. However, there are many receiver options, ranging from handheld portable units which just pick upWeather Radio - to desktop and console models which receive Weather Radio in addition to other broadcasts.

Depending on the information you want to access, and how and where you plan to access our broadcasts, you have many options. There are Standalone Weather Radio receivers as well as Multi-Band/Function Receivers with the Weather Band included. If you are want to be alerted to Warnings and Watches day or night, a Standalone receiver might work best for you. If you just want to be able to tune to in the Weather Broadcast, but you do not care about receiving alerts, a general multi-band/function receiver could be better.

Standalone Receivers: Standalone Receivers might also come with AM/FM bands, but their primary use will be to receive Weather Radio broadcasts. You can choose between handheld and desktop models, depending on whether you will want to take your radio with you when you go out. There are many choices from a number of manufacturers with prices ranging from around $20 to over $100, depending on the number of features included.

Tone alarm: The National Weather Service will send a 1050 Hz tone alarm before most warning and many watch messages are broadcast. The tone will activate all the receivers which are equipped to receive it, even if the audio is turned off. This is especially useful for warnings which occur during the night when most people are asleep.

SAME technology: SAME, or Specific Area Message Encoding allows you to specify the particular area for which you wish to receive alerts. Most warnings and watches broadcast over NOAA Weather Radio are county-based in Florida. Since most NWR transmitters are broadcasting for a number of counties, SAME receivers will respond only to alerts issued for the area (or areas) you have selected. This minimizes the number of “false alarms” for events which might be a few counties (ie. Osceola, Sumter, etc.) away from where you live.

Selectable alerting of events: While SAME allows you to specify a particular area of interest, some receivers allow you to turn off the alarm for certain events which might not be important to you. For example, if you live in a coastal county, but not right at the beach, you might not care about Coastal Flood Warnings.

Battery backup: Since power outages often occur during storms, having a receiver with battery backup can be crucial. However, unless you have a portable unit which you will use away from other power sources, an AC power connection is recommended.

If you do not have a NOAA Weather Radio, consider the purchase.  It is the only way you will be alerted there is a tornado warning in your area late at night.  The activation tone will wake you up, allowing you the opportunity to gather the family, pets, and go to a safe room.