Weather Apps That Warn When the Weather Turns Bad

Dalhart Weather Review

By Aaron Graves

Lightning bolt north of Dalhart last spring.

As we move deeper into spring, the chance of severe weather in our area grows more likely. When threatening weather approaches, how do you stay safe? Getting advanced warnings is important. 

In last week's blog, we talked about a free service called "Resolve To Be Ready", provided by the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission. It sends alerts by text message and e-mail for tornado warnings and other hazards. If you need help signing up for this service, check out the previous blog entry. 

This week, I have been trying out various mobile apps that would basically turn my iPad into a weather radio. I want the app to send a push notification with a noticeable alert tone if bad weather is on the way. Here is what I found. Keep in mind, there might be other apps out there I didn't see. Also, I was only able to browse and use apps from the Apple App Store. Hopefully, some of the apps I talk about in this article are available on other platforms. 

The first app is called "NOAA Weather Radio HD" by Christopher Coudriet. It actual streams the NOAA Weather Radio broadcast from the Amarillo office of the National Weather Service. It sends push notices and alarms for severe weather warnings. The app only costs a couple of bucks, which is not bad. An actual weather radio bought off the shelf usually runs $30 to $40. Right now, the app is only available for iPhone and iPad.

(Side note on this app. When I downloaded it, Dallam and Hartley counties were not in the list to receive alerts. I e-mailed the developer, and he fixed it within the hour. Now, both counties are included. Hats off to Christopher for being willing to do that.)

The next app is free and also available from the Google Play store. It is called "Tornado" by the American Red Cross. It seeks to educate the public on what to do before, during, and after a tornado. This app will also send push notifications and sound a very noticeable alarm if a tornado is threatening. Of note, the Red Cross has other disaster-related apps, including one for first aid.

I also looked for apps from local providers, such as the Amarillo NWS and the Amarillo TV stations. The Amarillo NWS does not have a mobile app, but they do post forecasts and alerts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Also, being a government agency, they could not outright endorse or recommend any app on the market, which is understandable.

As for the Amarillo TV stations, the app for KAMR Channel 4 is good. It has sent me push notifications for the Dalhart area. However, the alert tone it uses is one of the built-in iPad sounds. I would have to download a louder, more attention getting tone, but then it would sound for any push notifications I received. On the upside, though, the KAMR app is also available on the Google Play store.

KFDA Channel 10 has an informative app, but I do not believe it sends out alerts. KVII Channel 7 told me over the phone that an app is in the works for their station, although details were not available about what it would do.

Next I checked out the big name weather groups that service the whole country. The app for The Weather Channel claims it will send push alerts during severe weather for one location that you choose. I was able to pick Dalhart. The good thing about this is The Weather Channel app is available on several different platforms, including Windows phones.  

As far as I could tell, apps from Weather Underground, Accuweather, and Intellicast don't offer push alert notifications. 

Please feel free to contact me if you know of any other apps that would send advanced alerts to a mobile device. This includes anything that works on iPhone, Android, Windows 8, and Amazon Kindle. 

***

Rain clouds slowly drifted through the sky Sunday afternoon, dropping what little water they could squeeze out of the air. Officially, no rainfall was recorded at the airport, according to the National Weather Service in Amarillo. In town, we enjoyed light sprinkles. Our monthly rain total stands at 0.11".

A look at Texaspivot.com shows very spotty rain totals on Sunday. For example, farmland along North Sedan Road reported 0.04", but almost 0.30" fell on South Sedan Road. However, most of Dallam and Hartley counties saw little or no rain. 

Aside from the spotty showers, the weather was quiet. Daily high temperatures have been in the 70's the past week. Bird watchers are enjoying the warmth and the influx of shore birds at Rita Blanca Lake. American Avocets and the White-faced Ibis have arrived. The song of the Red-winged Blackbird fills the air. In the trees along the walking trail, keep an eye out for the Yellow-rumped Warbler.

The infamous panhandle wind machine cranked up again yesterday and is expected to blow throw this weekend. Spring thunderstorms fired up Wednesday, but they stayed well east of our area.

For the rest of the week, temperatures will reach the mid 80's by the weekend. Saturday and Sunday could see wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Overnight lows will be in the mid 40's to low 50's. No rain is in the forecast. 

High and low temps the past week

Apr 15: 69, 25

Apr 16: 70, 34

Apr 17: 56, 38

Apr 18: 77, 30

Apr 19: 76, 52

Apr 20: 71, 45

Apr 21: 77, 48