B.W. and Carol
Dawn and Denise
Merikay
Thanks so much for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!We didn't realize that Michigan gets tornados. While we were in Tennessee over Memorial Day Weekend our campground neighbors called to tell us there had been high winds and the electricity had gone out for about 14 hours. That same storm was in fact a tornado that touched down in a town not far from here.
In the last couple of weeks, we heard the siren go off in the campground and didn't really know what to do. One neighbor who is a seasonal resident here, said not to worry, just button down everything and put up the awnings.
Another neighbor said when things get really windy (up to 50 mph and beyond), they go to the laundry room/ bathroom which is one of the few cinderblock buildings in the campground.
Wednesday night it looked dark and foreboding and the weatherman was calling for bad weather. We kept the TV on the local weather channel and watched the radar as the storm moved along south of us by about 10 miles. I looked at about 10:00 PM and our neighbors had vacated their RV again. I double checked what county we were in and then watched the news and felt comfortable? staying put.
But it made us talk and consider what we should be doing in situations like this. We need a plan.
Yesterday, I came across the best plan I have seen on a fellow RVers blog. Odel and Laurie give excellent, step by step instructions in the Semi-True Tales of Our Life on the Road.
We have taken many of their suggestions including getting an NOAA Weather Radio. I did some research on the internet and decided on an Eton FR360. I wanted one that had a hand crank, could also work on batteries and one that could also be solar charged.
It took a bit of doing, but we found it at Bass Pro Shops. There is one about 30 minutes from here and we decided to see if they had one in stock. Sure enough they did and $49.95 later, it was ours. Now, in addition to this and following Odel and Laurie's guidelines, we have greater confidence that we can get the word and be safer in times of bad weather.
Yesterday was also pancake day at our house.
The campfire
I thought I snapped a picture of the folks in the boat fishing but I guess I didn't. Then there were the folks walking along the shore from the swimming area that came by our campsite. We had more than the usual going on.
Later we saw some of the College World Series and that was it for us on a nice Saturday. Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles.
Those weather radios are a must! We have one that we purchased at Radio Shack. I like it because it knows where we are at all times. It gives us the weather in a 50 mile radius. Works good for us. It has beeped in my ear serveral times in the middle of the night.
ReplyDeleteI always locate the laundry room/bath house in the RV parks as my safe place. I am not much for riding out a really bad storm in the RV. Some RV Parks have storm shelters.
What ever your plan is...use it...and stay safe!
Yes, Michigan has some really major tornadoes. That is where Kimberly was raised and she is terrified of storms because of a few really bad tornadoes she went through as a child.
ReplyDeleteWe are definitely researching a NOAA Weather Radio...we like the crank idea and the one that knows where we are located. We seem to be in a really safe place for the next few months, storms are not vicious, at least not so far.
Good luck to all you folks in the terrible weather areas, many of our blogger friends seem to be right in the midst of it all and we are taking notes for our future travels.
Smart move getting that little weather radio - it seems to have everything imaginable. Seems to me like tornado's are getting more and more common so having an extra warning system is almost a must. Those pancakes looked terrific - can't wait until I can have them again but it won't be long now!
ReplyDeleteI like that radio and will look at our Bass Pro Shoppe here, Up until now I have depended on the WX channel in all my scanner radios which is all well and good if you have the batteries charged, or a 12 volt, or 110volt power source, The handcrank magneto and the usb charger port means you could keep the radio and a cell phone charged no matter what, I good insurance policy. Glad to see yopu had a good night with the neighbors. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a terrific radio. We have been checking into a few different ones in the past couple of days, and I like the one you bought.
ReplyDeleteThose pancakes looked good!