PONCA CITY – Having a good way to receive severe weather warnings is critical in Oklahoma as rough weather can strike at any given time during the year.
The National Weather Service recommends that one way that people can receive warnings in their home is having a NOAA Weather Radio. You take it home, plug it in & turn it on. It will sit there silent with no maintenance necessary other than changing the batteries once a year. But when it does go off, you will hear it! They are designed to get your attention when other things just won’t. And here’s the good news. Thanks to a Hazard Mitigation Grant, the City of Ponca City will have weather radios on sale for only $5.00! These radios normally cost $30 to $40 so this is a great deal. You can purchase a weather radio at the Ponca City RecPlex on Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 5 p.m.-7 p.m., or Thursday, Sept. 12, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
To make these radios available for purchase, volunteers have them programmed to the right frequency and county code. They will only alert you to Kay County storms unless you choose to modify and add others. Please contact Paula Cain, Emergency Management Director at 580-767-0380 with questions.
Other ways of receiving severe weather warnings ishaving at least two ways to receive these warnings include outdoor warning sirens in communities. This system is meant for people who are outdoors. Inside your home, while asleep, or just during a thunderstorm your chances of hearing a siren drop dramatically. Don’t rely on them too much. People who live in rural countrysides are not able to hear sirens, which can make it tough to know of warnings. Another way is to receive severe weather warnings is on your cell phone. To get the maximum benefit the phone needs to be near you, to be charged all the time, and to have the ringer turned on. Your phone will send an alert with a tone describing what warning you have received. Ponca City residents might have experienced this in the Spring of 2019 as multiple Flash Flood Warnings were issued.
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