Preparedness Gift Guide: NOAA Weather Radios

DEM Blogger

November 13, 2014

As the holiday season approaches, many of us struggle to find gifts for the friends and family members who already have everything. Have you considered giving things that will help the most important people in your life be more prepared for emergencies? In this series of posts, DEM looks at the best preparedness-related gifts that our staff and volunteers have given, received, or bought for themselves.

Why It’s Useful: It’s like a smoke detector for severe weather.

Price Range: About $30.

Where to Buy: Groceries, pharmacies, home goods stores.

Don’t Forget: Backup batteries; county-specific setup.

If DEM had the budget to give a gift to every home in Fayette County this year, that gift would be a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio. We’re not kidding – when we talk to people in the community about preparedness, this is the first thing we tell them to acquire.

Once it’s plugged in and set for your county (a five-minute process if you’re tech-savvy or have access to a teenager), a NOAA weather radio silently monitors the radio frequencies reserved for its alerts. When the National Weather Service sends out a severe weather watch or warning for your area, the radio switches itself on to play the alert tone and subsequent message. If a tornado or severe thunderstorm is bearing down on you, this can give you the lead time you need to protect yourself and your family.

We’ve put more detailed information about NOAA weather radios on a separate page of your site. Be sure to check it out.

Disclaimer: The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and the LFUCG Division of Emergency Management do not endorse any goods or services mentioned in our blog posts, social media statements, press releases, or website content. Any mention of commercial products is for informational purposes only.