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| A weather radio like this is a perfect Christmas gift, and the National Weather Service has an awesome ad touting these. |
The gift is great: A weather radio. But the way the National Weather Service touts it is beyond perfect.
The ad that says how wonderful the weather radio is is given in the computerized voice of a weather radio that announces the arrival of dangerous weather.
The National Weather Service has pretty much advanced beyond the crude computerized voice, but some warnings, especially weather radios, do feature the voice.
A lot of us weather geeks have a soft spot in our hearts for that awkward voice, that is somehow simultaneously emotionless and full of heartfelt devotion to all things weather.
Or, as The Vane blog puts it, "dorky." And that's totally meant as a compliment.
The voice, one that sounds like a guy being muffled by a pillow while standing in a culvert pipe and under orders to show no emotion WHAT SO EVER begins by telling us:
"Ho, Ho. Ho. This is your friendly National Weather Service weather radio computer voice wishing everyone a happy holiday season.
The voice is funny, but does have a good point. A weather radio is awesome for saving lives. Especially for those living in tornado prone areas.
You can program the thing to only give you a warning for your specific area. If it's 100 miles away who really cares. And you can program it so it wakes you up with a blaring sound tone if there's a tornado right near you.
That's especially handy at, say 2 a.m., when you're sound asleep and not paying attention to any tornadoes roaming your neighborhood. The weather radio's piercing warning sound wakes you up and gives you time to hide in the basement while the tornado passes through.
Of course, these weather radios are handy-dandy for any type of weather problem, ranging from hurricanes to floods to blizzards.
I'm glad the National Weather Service is using a sense of humor to grab your attention and convince you to buy a weather radio.
And if stodgy Mark Trail endorses weather radios, you know it's a good idea.
The ad concludes with a photograph of a snowbound National Weather Service sign and a totally deadpan, "Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow," and the editorial comment, "Just be glad I don't sing."
Watch the totally awesome weather radio PSA below:
Determining the right radio for your application is just the beginning. In order to ensure a complete deployment, and to optimize performance MDS radio,
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