thoughtnot

Spring has sprung, and the rain has arrived right on schedule. We have been extremely lucky to have had several sunny days in the upper 70s to low 80s lately, but that appears to be passing now. Now we are moving back into the normal range of 60s temperatures and seemingly endless days of rain.

That’s the one thing I don’t like about Spring. You can’t make any plans, it seems. Want to mow your grass? You’ld better jump through the window of opportunity when it presents itself. Want to go for a walk? Uh oh, here comes a cloud! I’m not a big fan of not being able to plan out what I’m doing several days in advance. I want to know I can mow on Saturday, and that Sunday it will be rainy so I should think about doing something inside. The uncertainty of the weather annoys me. Worse, the inability of the weather forecasters to actually forecast the weather makes me want to scream sometimes.

And of course, we’re moving into that time of year… stormy weather. We were lulled to sleep last night with thunder and a light show. A few bolts were a bit hair-raising, but that kind of storm does not bother me. It’s the ones that are accompanied by high winds, hail, and tornadoes that really freak me out.

Which reminds me… make sure you’re prepared!

A weather radio is REALLY worth the investment, and is probably one of the best safety items you can have for your home next to smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher. Recent events have proven that they can save lives when they are being used. I paid a little over $60 for our primary weather radio a couple of years ago. It is really nice and originally sold for nearly $100. I can even hook it up to the computer and have it page or notify me of events by email or cell phone, though I’ve found that to be a bit more troublesome that it’s worth. And unfortunately, Radio Shack doesn’t sell it any more. But, you don’t need a $60 programmable radio — a $30 unit will work just fine. One tip is that you will appreciate it if you spend a few extra dollars and get one that supports “S.A.M.E” (Specific Area Message Encoding). That technology allows you to get only those alerts which apply to your immediate county or area, and not those which are for places several miles or hours away from you. It also allows you to filter out alerts you do not wish to hear (such as flash flood or winter storm watches).

It’s also good to know where you are going to go in the event of a storm, and make sure you have a working flashlight, extra batteries, a blanket, and perhaps even some crackers and a few bottles of water. Having the food is helpful if you have kids who may get hungry while you are “stuck” in the basement, and allows you to stay in your protective zone. Outside of those items, a “regular” radio for local information and a cell phone will be handy if you are going to be stuck for a while. The radio I chose for our basement was the Eton FR300, which combines a light, NOAA weather radio, AM/FM/TV receiver, flasher, and cell phone charger. It runs on AC or batteries, and has a build in “dynamo” which allows you to charge and run the unit with hand crank.

Stay dry, and be safe!