You need a way to receive severe weather warnings—here are four options

This past holiday weekend saw two separate rounds of devastating flooding across the southern United States—first in Texas on Friday, then in North Carolina on Sunday.

One county in central Texas saw the death toll rise past 80 on Monday as officials continue looking for those swept away by the floodwaters. Several people are reportedly missing in central North Carolina after a tropical storm dropped nearly a foot of rain on the region in a few hours. 

The hours after the disaster saw a glut of opinions, arguments, blame, and grief spill out—a testament to the fraught times we're stewing in right now. But the one message that really matters, the one that can help prevent a repeat in the future, is the one that seems most muted:

You need a way to receive severe weather warnings the moment they're issued. 

There's absolutely no room for doubt when it comes to the forecasts for central Texas leading up Friday's tragic floods. Forecasters with the National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for central Texas hours before the Guadalupe River in Kerr County swelled from 3 feet to 34 feet. 

Similarly, forecasters were on top of the evolving flood situation in central North Carolina as Tropical Storm Chantal moved over the region. Drenching tropical downpours produced 10+ inches of rain over Alamance County—between Greensboro and Durham—over the course of a couple of hours. This deluge swelled the Haw River near Burlington to its second-highest crest ever observed.

The warnings were there. 

It's an old saying that safety regulations are written in blood. Weather safety systems are no different. Every piece of warning technology we have today—from the phone in your hand to the radar in the sky—is a working memorial to those who couldn't see disaster coming in the not-too-distant past. 

It's exceptionally rare for a deadly weather event to come as an honest-to-goodness surprise to those in harm's way. Despite the cuts and upheaval at the National Weather Service over the past six months, there is always a team of experts scanning your skies 24/7 to keep you safe. There is almost always a warning before flash flooding or tornadoes strike.

The problem—the giant, glaring problem—is actually getting those warnings into the hands of those who need them immediately.

Turn on your phone's wireless emergency alerts

All modern smartphones are equipped with wireless emergency alerts that send a push alert to your device the moment a tornado warning or a flash flood warning is issued for your location. Cell phone towers triangulate your location to determine if the alert applies to you. If you get the alert, you're in danger. 

Unfortunately, lots of people switch these alerts off after one too many ill-timed interruptions. Please check your phone's settings and ensure that emergency alerts are turned on for "extreme alerts," which include tornado warnings and urgent flash flood warnings.

The folks who were camping in central Texas during the flash flood emergency may not have gotten the warnings in time because of poor cell reception and the fact that waters began rising while many folks were asleep. It was truly a worst-case scenario.

Invest in a NOAA Weather Radio

NOAA Weather Radios are like smoke detectors for the weather. Programmed correctly, they can sound a loud alarm when your county is placed under a watch or warning. My weather radio has alerted me to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes before my phone ever made a blip.

If you're worried about false alarms, pricier models (like my Midland WR-300 pictured above) allow you to filter out alerts that may not apply to you, ensuring you only receive the watches or warnings of your choosing. 

I'm happy to help you program your weather radio if you need assistance. Please email me and I'll gladly walk you through it. 

Enable alerts from reputable mobile weather apps

(Full disclosure for this section: I contribute to The Weather Network as a digital journalist. I write this in my own capacity, and as an American writing for Americans who live outside TWN's focus markets.)

Reputable weather apps are great for more than just the forecast. Almost every one of them has the ability to send you push notifications the moment an alert is issued for your location. 

I have lots of weather apps on my phone, including:

— The Weather Network

— The Weather Channel

— Wunderground

— Foreca

— WFMY Radar

— Google Weather

I have each one set to deliver me push alerts when a severe weather watch or warning is issued where I live. (Even TWN's app, built for Canadians, sends me alerts almost the instant they're issued here in North Carolina!)

Lemme tell you...the way my cell phone blings like a slot machine whenever a bad storm threatens my town, you'd think I won the jackpot.  But I like that redundancy! Redundancy is key when it comes to staying ahead of severe weather. It's better to be overwarned than not warned at all.

Look into CodeRED alerts for your community

Most municipalities offer lots of ways to receive emergency notifications from local officials, covering everything from road closures to tornado warnings. Both my city and my county use CodeRED to send out notifications when something urgent happens nearby.

See if your area participates in the CodeRED Alerts network. You can receive severe weather alerts, as well as public safety alerts, sent to you via text message, phone call, email, and I think there's even an app. 

No matter how you choose to get warnings, please ensure that you've got a way to receive immediate word of severe weather no matter where you are or what you're doing. We are the first generations in human history to have the knowledge and technology to stay safe from destructive weather. Take advantage of it..

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