Whats wrong with the NOAA radio System?

Received several questions about what is the best way to stay informed on the current weather events in a certain area, and thought I would share at some point my recommendations to all. This is not the post for that, but rather a “What is wrong with the current system” post. While Diane Sawyer has taken a lot of heat in the past few days reporting the popular phrase of “We had no warning”, in reality, for many of the people out there it is actually a true statement. Not because there was no warning, but because people do not either know how to get the warnings effectively, or were complacent and thinking it would not affect them.

So, how do we change that? How does the NWS, local media, and EM’s get the word out more efficient?

The common cry is for everyone to have a NOAA weather radio. While I agree that this can help tremendously, there are several flaws in the current system that I think deter people from purchasing one. I do not believe that it is an economic decision, but rather people are fed up by the amount of tests, and non life threatening information that seems to set it off. I know what most of your thinking right now, but bear with me.

NOAA radios use the S.A.M.E technology. Here is one of the issues with S.A.M.E

“When an NWS office broadcasts a warning, watch or non-weather emergency, it also broadcasts a digital SAME code that may be heard as a very brief static burst, depending on the characteristics of the receiver. This SAME code contains the type of message, county(s) affected, and message expiration time.”

Which means, when a Tornado or Severe Thunderstorm watch is issued, the radio goes off. When they issue a High Wind Watch/warning it goes off. When we are in a High Fire danger, it goes off. When its an Excessive heat warning…yep you guessed it…the radio goes off.

I know last summer my radio was going off constantly, and at all hours of the night. It seems like the graveyard shift at the NWS were responsible for issuing excessive heat warnings for the next day…which last July and August was just about every day. So, just about every night between 2am-5am, my NOAA radio would sound its alert.

While doing my research, I have learned from a reliable source in the business that the market penetration for NOAA radios is 1 in every 4 households currently have a NOAA radio. However less than 1 out of 10 have it on full time. So, 25% of the households have one, and less than 10% keep them on all the time. Why? Because of all the non life threatening alarms that set the radio off at all hours of the night.

Second issue with the current NOAA radio system is the simple fact they are still using S.A.M.E. codes. While this is not near the annoyance of having the radio constantly going off, it is still an issue with how warnings are now being handled. National Weather Service implemented Storm-Based Warnings (SBWs) back on October 1, 2007. As they say….”By focusing on the true threat area(s) and not being restricted to counties, SBWs improve NOAA’s NWS warning accuracy and quality by reducing areas in counties that are not directly impacted by the severe weather threat.” Here we are in 2012, and the radio still use the county system. So if any part of the warning polygon touches my county…Alarm goes off. Even if its 60 miles away, and heading the other direction. How hard would it be to be able design a radio that allows you to set your Lat/Lon and if your in the Polygon, it would cause the radio to go off.

How about if they issue different tones for different alerts. Well they do. Because my NOAA radio tells me what type of warning/watch it is. So, why can we not select the type of warnings we want to hear? Would that not make sense?

There was a challenge issued by one chaser to the rest of us to give out 5 NOAA radios this year to people we see while chasing. A very commendable thought and gesture. However until they update how the NOAA radio system works, chances are better than 50/50 that NONE of the radios I would give away would actually be used.

So, that is my rant for the day. Everyone claiming that anyone not having a NOAA radio is crazy, or being irresponsible is just plain sad. A good portion of the population have them, but due to a very flawed system of notification, they choose not to use it.

I will post a followup to this shortly with suggestions on alternative options you can use to keep your family safe during the severe weather season.

James

Equipment used during chasing

Well many of you ask in chat, PM’s and email what type of equipment I use while chasing. So, I thought I would break it down a bit for you. While in no means is my setup ideal, or even comparable to some setups, I find it does the best job when it comes to cost/benefit factor. There are many out there that have setups that would put mine to shame, but it serves me well for what I do. I also want to stress that this is by no means a list for someone to go out and get to go chasing. First and most important peice of equipment is your eyes. You have to know what is going on around you. Without that, your heading for disappointment, or even disaster.

Video cameras in use. Daytime cam is a JVC GR-DA30. I love this little camcorder due to the fact the LCD screen is on the rear of the camera and not one of the flip out types. My night cam is just an old Sony TVR87. This thing has amazing low light capabilty with a 1 lux rating without night mode being turned on. Believe me when I say that this thing sees better in the dark than I can. I can see cloud formations with the camera that I can not see by naked eye. Anotherwards, if you have an old Sony Hi8 laying around, don’t throw it in the trash bin just yet!

To mount the cameras, I use a Filmtools Gripper 115 XL. This is an excellent suction mount. Rock solid, very robust and easy to adjust.

Now that I have the cameras covered, we have to get the video into the laptop. My solution was just a simple USB capture device. I prefer the EZCap capture device. Plug and play, multiple inputs, and good resolution. I have multiple plugged in so that I can capture or stream several different cameras at the same time. I also use a couple webcams for my PIP cams that are mounted to the dash.

Now on to the computer. I currently utilize a Toshiba P745-S4380 that utilizes an Intel Core i5-2430M Processor, 750GB hard drive, 6GB system memory, and 14″display. Its more than enough to run the few programs I have going on the road. Nothing special about the laptop really. Only issue is the newer gloss screens have a glare problem.

Well, I have the video, and its in the laptop….got to get it out somehow. For that I use Millenicom. They are a reseller of Verizon and Sprint Data plans. Why not just go through Verizon? Well Verizon is $80 for 5 gigs of data. Millenicom offers 20 gigs for $60 including taxes. It is also a month to month plan, not a long term contract. If you need data while out on the road, or in an RV, summer home with no DSL/Cable options…Please Google Millenicom.

Now, in the plains, cell coverage can be spotty at times. To counter this, I use a Wilson 811201 direct connect amplifier and I have upgraded from the stock Wilson 3Dbi antenna to a Blackcat 9Dbi antenna. Huge improvement over the stock antenna. While there may be a couple of spots in Kansas that I can not get 3g, I have yet to find them! Now that Verizon is partnering with Pioneer Celluar out of OK, coverage is only going to get that much better!

Other things in my car that make things possible would be an upgraded 160 amp Alternator to handle all the extra gadgets. There are two ham radios, a Yaesu 1802 2m, and a Icom 3320H dual band mounted in the center console, as well as a Pro 96 scanner. To power all the AC equipment, I have a 400 watt power invertor.

Software programs include Wirecast for streaming, GRLevel 3 for Radar, AllisinonHouse and F5data data subsricptions to supplement GR, and several mapping programs .Hopefully this will answer some of the questions you might have about what it is I use to get the stream out to you guys!

James