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Well Christmas is almost here along with the cold weather for those of us up North.  Stores don't even wait for the Halloween decorations to go down before racking their shelves and advertisements for the Christmas season.  So in the early spirit of Christmas here is a neat gift idea for the Weather Watcher in your life...or maybe a special gift for yourself ;o)

Pocket weather meters like the kestrel 4000 are the rage lately.  I've seen many posts and inquiries from non weather watchers about these after they were featured on the movie "Journey to the Center of the Earth".  There are several models in the market and price is mostly dependent on functions being monitored.  These mobile weather watcher devices can cover: wind speed, temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, altitude density, wind chill, dew point and other neat calculations.   This is a serious weather measurement instrument and not a toy.  Overall a great addition to a weather watchers kit.  Stay tuned for a full writeup once I receive mine ;o)

Buy now from eBay to save money and beat the Christmas shipping rush!!

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Oregon Scientific WRB308

If you have ever been affected by severe weather or live in an area where severe weather such as hurricanes, tornadoes and severe storms can affect you, a Weather Radio should be part of your emergency preparedness kit.  If you live in the line of fire of any natural disaster you will want to know when a severe weather event is coming and when it's gone.  For the weather hobbyist the weather radio is great for keeping tab on current weather events as well.

What is a Weather Radio?
Weather Radio is a service provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  The NOAA provides a dedicated radio network for weather information announcements and alerts when necessary.  The alerts are provided by the Emergency Alert Service (EAS) and cover items such as natural disasters, oil spills and even recently child abductions.  The Weather Radio is designed specifically to pick up NOAA broadcasts on one of seven VHF frequencies.  These frequencies are between 162.40 and 162.55 MHz.  They will have a built in function to switch from standby to active mode whenever a warning is received.

Weather Radios come with various functions.  They are not all created equal and during times of emergency you will want one that works and is rugged.  Look for the following options in a good weather radio:

• AC and Battery power source in case an emergency knocks out power you have battery backup
• Access to S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message Encoding) so you can program the weather radio to receive warnings in your local area.
• Great reception from your local NWR transmitter
• A strong alarm code to make sure you hear it above everything

Weather Radios come in two configurations: Portable and Desktop.  Portables are nice to have in your emergency bag and always make sure you pack extra batteries.  Desktop models are a bit more expensive but come with other options such as picking up AM/FM radio frequencies and the number of counties that can be programmed for SAME.  Selection all comes down to personal taste and comfort level.  Some weather radio models are easier to program then others.  The main thing is that you are comfortable with the unit.

Newer models such as the WRB308 from Oregon Scientific is a Public Alert Radio and Weather Docking Station combined.  It provides readings of outdoor temperature, air pressure and basic forecasting to go along with the NOAA alerts.  The Oregon Scientific WRB308 comes with a recharging base station as well and includes NiMh batteries.

In conclusion, we hope to never have to use a Weather Radio for anything else then updated weather information, but they are an essential part of an emergency preparednes kit.  Due diligence in product research and learning the selected product until it becomes second nature can make difference between an information device and life saving device.  Shop and buy your Weather Radio today!!