Don't Have a Weather Radio? Meteorologists Say This One Is Crucial in Spring

Anna Mahan
·2 min read
weather radios
This $40 Tool Is Crucial for Spring Storms Country Living


"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

Ah, spring. We’ve waited all winter for longer days and warmer weather. However, this season typically brings a few bad storms along the way as well. If you live in an area that experiences a lot of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, you need a weather radio. As a millennial who is never without my phone, I know how convenient it is to stream weather coverage and get alerts via a notification. However, living in the South my whole life, I also know how easy it is to lose service, Wi-Fi, or power when a tornado comes through.


Midland NOAA Emergency Weather Alert Radio

Midland Store
Midland Store

$39.99 at amazon.com

After working alongside meteorologists at a news station for years, I learned how reliable weather radios are and which ones are most recommended by weather professionals. While there are a few good ones out there, one of the simplest, yet most dependable is the Midland NOAA Emergency Radio. You want to make sure your weather radio is NOAA registered, because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is the official organization picking up alerts about extreme weather and natural disasters. If you've ever watched a weather report during a storm, your meteorologist has probably mentioned this radio.

How It Works

This radio is battery powered so you're still in good hands if the power goes out. However, make sure it's got new batteries in it before a storm hits. You can program the radio to your local area and choose from multiple different kinds of emergencies you want to be notified about. Once you've set it up, it automatically alerts you of events such as tornadoes, hurricanes, thunderstorms, floods, wildfires, etc. And just a heads up, the alert is loud, so you're likely to hear it no matter where you are in your house. The setup is pretty straight-forward, however there are also great instructional videos on YouTube, and some local fire stations and police stations will even set them up for you if you take them by.

While I like and prefer my Midland NOAA Radio, there are other options that are powered by a hand crank or are solar powered if you prefer to go that route. You can shop more of those NOAA weather radios below.


NOAA Emergency Weather Radio - Solar/Hand Crank

FosPower
FosPower

$29.99 at amazon.com


NOAA Emergency Crank Weather AM/FM Radio

Midland
Midland

$69.98 at amazon.com


NOAA Emergency Crank/Solar Weather Radio

RunningSnail
RunningSnail

$35.90 at amazon.com

You Might Also Like

Latest Stories

  • First tornado of the year strikes Canada

    Nearly halfway through April and we have Canada's first confirmed tornado of 2025.

  • Winter won't quit: More snow and winds hit Ontario this week

    Heavy snow in northern Ontario will lead to lake-effect flurries in the south by Tuesday, as temperatures drop well below seasonal, and winter refuses to let go

  • Oro-Medonte asks Ontario government to declare natural disaster, 2 weeks after ice storm

    Eight years ago, Luke Sedgwick began a luxury camping eco-retreat on his family farm in Oro-Medonte, Ont., after the farm had been struggling financially. Now, two weeks after an ice storm hit the province, he estimates the cost to rebuild will be around $300,000. The storm tore through 10 of the 14 accommodations at Glen Oro Farm, just over 100 kilometres north of Toronto, with falling trees snapping tent supports and shredding canvas structures.What used to be a forest on the property has beco

  • Don't let the warmer weather fool you, snow returns to Alberta soon

    The rollercoaster ride for Alberta begins early in the week with above normal temperatures. Things quickly change as cold air funnels south, with the threat for snow in portions of the province by mid-week

  • Trump Official Says It's Okay to Destroy Endangered Species Because We Can Just Clone Them

    A Trump official is coming after the real menace plaguing America: those gosh-darn freeloaders moping around in the endangered species list. On Monday, interior secretary Doug Burgum suggested that the list, which is maintained by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and is a cornerstone of the nation's conservation efforts, needs cleaning out. We should celebrate removing species, not adding them, he said. "The Endangered Species List has become like the Hotel California: once a species enters, the

  • See Canada's first tornado of 2025 spotted this weekend

    How did a tornado form this weekend with barely any moisture at the surface? Meteorologist Dylan Kikuta breaks down the surprising setup behind Canada’s first tornado of 2025, including what made conditions perfect for a landspout to develop near Rolling Hills, Alberta.

  • Manitoba 'repatriating' some hydro exports from U.S. to power Canadian projects instead

    Manitoba will cancel some hydroelectricity exports to the U.S. in an effort to power more homegrown projects, Premier Wab Kinew says.Manitoba will let two of its hydroelectric agreements which exported power across the southern border expire, Kinew told reporters on Monday. The province is "repatriating" that power to invest in Canadian projects as trade tensions with the U.S. drag on, he said."We saw that there's 500 [megawatts] of export contracts that are expiring at the end of the month, and

  • Additional snows up to 15 cm possible in Alberta through Sunday

    From double-digit highs to end the week in Alberta, to a weekend of cold and snow ahead -- April is showing its true colours

  • Polar cold descends into Ontario following rainy Monday

    A lobe of incredibly cold air will swing over the Great Lakes over the coming days, fueling a snowstorm in northern Ontario and triggering lake-effect snow in southern Ontario. Meteorologist Kevin MacKay has the details.

  • N.S. government will oversee recovery of abandoned tidal turbine

    Nova Scotia Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau says his department will take the lead on finding a way to recover a long-abandoned tidal turbine from the floor of the Bay of Fundy.Previously, the department tried to tie recovery of the 1,300-tonne turbine to berth conditions at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre of Energy (FORCE), located near Parrsboro, N.S.But in an interview on Monday, Boudreau confirmed his department and FORCE will now oversee the effort."We want this done as quickly as possible

  • Up to 30 cm of snow, heavy icing en route to Atlantic Canada

    Wintry weather refuses to let go of its grip on Atlantic Canada as another round of snow, freezing rain and rain is on the way into this week

  • Can fungi fight fires? This Alberta town plans to find out

    Two summers ago, Fox Creek, Alta., was evacuated for 19 days due to an approaching wildfire. While the town of 1,900 people didn't burn, officials have since been trying to find ways to better protect the community from future fires.One option includes using fungi. "It would be another line of defence," said Sheila Gilmour, mayor of the community about 250 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.A mushroom grows in a forested area of the WJ (Bill) Greenhough Genesee Conservation Area in Leduc County, A

  • N.L.'s wind-hydrogen hype is on fumes, but this Placentia Bay project is forging ahead

    Much of the hype over hydrogen in Newfoundland and Labrador has subsided, and the harsh realities facing this nascent industry are casting a cloud of uncertainty over plans to dot the landscape with hundreds of wind turbines and construct hydrogen plants from Stephenville to Argentia.Some have downsized their multi-billion-dollar projects or are exploring alternative business cases for a wind energy farm, while others have been granted extensions by the provincial government for the millions owe

  • Great news, Toronto, the 8 p.m. sunsets are back

    Sunsets after 8 p.m. will start in Toronto on Monday, and will continue for more than four months

  • Scientists Revive Organism Found Buried at Bottom of Ocean

    A team of researchers in Germany have revived algae cells found buried at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, where they laid dormant for more than 7,000 years. For millenia, the cells, imprisoned under layers of sediment, were deprived of oxygen or light. But once revived, they showed full viability, the researchers report in a study published in The ISME Journal, firing back up their oxygen production and multiplying again like it was no big deal. According to the team, this is the oldest known orga

  • Urban sugaring a success for one Haligonian, but city not so sweet on idea

    Growing up among the concrete and asphalt of New York City, Brian Longo was fascinated by nature and the idea of using the nature at hand to produce food.Longo says he remembers travelling to California as a kid, seeing orange trees on a boulevard and people stopping their cars to go pick the fruit."I thought that was one of the best things I've ever seen," he said. "Using public land for something that people can use. It just makes sense to me."So when he moved to central Halifax last year and

  • Buckets of rain and a blast of winter starts Atlantic Canada's week

    The return of grey April skies has brought rain, snow, and freezing rain Sunday into Monday. Details with Meteorologist Dylan Kikuta.

  • Why ‘de-extinct’ dire wolves are a Trojan horse to hide humanity’s destruction of nature

    Extinction is, for the time being, forever – and a symptom of our global economic system.

  • Volatile spring conditons for Alberta this week

    The rollercoaster ride for Alberta begins early week with above normal temperatures. Things quickly change as cold air funnels south, arising the threat for snow in portions of the province by mid-week. Meteorologist Laura Power has more.

  • Pacific Coast Highway in Palisades burn area could reopen to public by end of May

    More than 100 trucks and excavators are working on the highway and more than 1,200 truckloads of debris are being carried away per day, the governor's office said.