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| Watch the Weather!!! |
Bad weather can expose RVers to
dangerous conditions that can cause
personal injury and damage to their RV.
dangerous conditions that can cause
personal injury and damage to their RV.
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Hurricane Damage in Pensacola, FL Photo - Courtesy of FEMA |
| Tornado Damage in Missouri Photo - Courtesy of FEMA |
| Safety Tip: Are you carrying flashlights, spare batteries, cell phone and charger, first aid kit, safety triangles, campground directories, road atlas or maps, credit cards, and an emergency phone contact list? |
| All original content Copyright © 2008 by Alan and Barbara Lidstone. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. |
Watch the Weather
RVers can monitor environmental and weather-related situations on local TV and radio
stations, the TV Weather Channel and the Internet. For those using computers, we
recommend you add the NOAA website to your web browser Favorites list to obtain
current status and information on hurricanes and bad weather situations. In addition to
the local radio stations, both XM and Sirius satellite radio provide traffic and weather
information for selected geographic areas.
RVers with access to the Internet can easily retrieve up-to-date information about all
types of weather and environmental events anywhere in the country.
We recommend the National Weather Service website for the information you need to
know about hurricanes, tornados, wildfires and fire warnings, flooding conditions,
including flash floods, river floods, and coastal flooding, small craft advisories, and
much more.
Most RVers realize that hurricanes wreak most of their damage along the nation’s
coastlines from Texas to New England from June through November each year. It is
important to remember that tornados and flooding effects from hurricanes and tropical
storms can reach far inland, easily reaching into the Appalachian Mountains Valley,
north Georgia, western South Carolina and North Carolina, and Tennessee. RVers and
people in a swath from Oklahoma, through the entire mid-west, to the east coast from
Florida to Pennsylvania have to be on the lookout for tornado warnings for a good part
of every year.
Speaking of Hurricanes… - RVers interested in tracking hurricanes on their desktop
or notebook computers can download the shareware GenCode Technologies Windows-
based Tracking the Eye.NET computer software from http://hurricanesoftware.
com/download.aspx. The program provides hurricane tracking using data and satellite
imagery downloaded from weather databases on the web.
The free download will work after it is installed, and the developer requests an initial
payment of $35 for the first 12 months of access to the Internet storm data, along with a
follow-on annual fee of $20/year after the first year. If you don’t have access to the
Internet, GenCode Technologies provides hurricane information via cell phone for cell
phones that support the wireless web and have wireless web access. The website for
current tropical storm and hurricane information is wap.hurricanesoftware.com (See
display image on right).
Caught on the Road during Bad Weather - If you are RVing during bad weather
periods, we recommend you consider the following suggestions to stay current on
weather events:
RV resort, ask the staff about the location of any nearby shelters for RVers and
evacuation routes out of the campground and area.
We also recommend the following for all RVers:
If you anticipate severe weather, stay in campgrounds and RV resorts with cable-TV for
access to the Weather Channel (even if you have a satellite dish).
RVers needing AA batteries, may want check out
It is also important to carry adequate maps and a good road atlas to find alternate
routes. If you travel with a computer, we strongly recommend a good mapping and
routing computer program such as DeLorme Street Atlas, and a GPS device to track
and determine your actual location.
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RVers can monitor environmental and weather-related situations on local TV and radio
stations, the TV Weather Channel and the Internet. For those using computers, we
recommend you add the NOAA website to your web browser Favorites list to obtain
current status and information on hurricanes and bad weather situations. In addition to
the local radio stations, both XM and Sirius satellite radio provide traffic and weather
information for selected geographic areas.
RVers with access to the Internet can easily retrieve up-to-date information about all
types of weather and environmental events anywhere in the country.
We recommend the National Weather Service website for the information you need to
know about hurricanes, tornados, wildfires and fire warnings, flooding conditions,
including flash floods, river floods, and coastal flooding, small craft advisories, and
much more.
Most RVers realize that hurricanes wreak most of their damage along the nation’s
coastlines from Texas to New England from June through November each year. It is
important to remember that tornados and flooding effects from hurricanes and tropical
storms can reach far inland, easily reaching into the Appalachian Mountains Valley,
north Georgia, western South Carolina and North Carolina, and Tennessee. RVers and
people in a swath from Oklahoma, through the entire mid-west, to the east coast from
Florida to Pennsylvania have to be on the lookout for tornado warnings for a good part
of every year.
Speaking of Hurricanes… - RVers interested in tracking hurricanes on their desktop
or notebook computers can download the shareware GenCode Technologies Windows-
based Tracking the Eye.NET computer software from http://hurricanesoftware.
com/download.aspx. The program provides hurricane tracking using data and satellite
imagery downloaded from weather databases on the web.
The free download will work after it is installed, and the developer requests an initial
payment of $35 for the first 12 months of access to the Internet storm data, along with a
follow-on annual fee of $20/year after the first year. If you don’t have access to the
Internet, GenCode Technologies provides hurricane information via cell phone for cell
phones that support the wireless web and have wireless web access. The website for
current tropical storm and hurricane information is wap.hurricanesoftware.com (See
display image on right).
Caught on the Road during Bad Weather - If you are RVing during bad weather
periods, we recommend you consider the following suggestions to stay current on
weather events:
- Carry an emergency radio with the 7 NOAA weather channels and keep the radio on
while driving. We recommend selecting an emergency radio that can run on 12-volt
DC power, 120-volt-AC power, batteries, and hand-crank generator for maximum
availability inside and outside of the RV. (See Emergency Radio article on page 18). - Only stay at RV resorts and campgrounds that have TV cable service that includes
the Weather Channel (satellite service might not be available because of trees or
heavy clouds). - Carry a cell phone and charger, road atlas and maps, flashlights, batteries,
campground directory, and rain gear (ponchos, umbrellas, coats, etc.). - Carry a laptop computer that can connect to the Internet (both Wi-FI and modem),
with DeLorme Streets Atlas or Microsoft Streets and Trips mapping and trip routing
software installed and GPS unit. - Consider selecting a wireless mobile phone that allows you to download and check
the weather (you will probably need the zip code for the area you want to check) - If you travel in hilly areas with a computer, consider installing Delorme Topo USA 6.0
which provides both mapping and trip routing functions, along with topographical
maps showing the terrain in a 3-d format. - Make sure you have plenty of fuel, water, and propane in the event you wind up in a
dry-camping situation.
- Call 9-1-1 if you are caught in dangerous conditions on the open road. Tell
Emergency Service where you are and request their assistance to get to the
closest safe place or shelter. Many cell phones can provide automatic GPS
positioning assistance when calling 9-1-1 to assist authorities in determining your
location.
RV resort, ask the staff about the location of any nearby shelters for RVers and
evacuation routes out of the campground and area.
We also recommend the following for all RVers:
- Do not set up an RV site in canyons or next to creek or stream beds subject to flash
flooding. If you can see nearby hills all around you, you may be in a potential flood
area. - Make sure you know at least two ways out of your RV site in the event of downed
trees, downed electrical lines, or flooding. - Leave your NOAA emergency radio turned on and set to sound the alarm for severe
weather conditions.
If you anticipate severe weather, stay in campgrounds and RV resorts with cable-TV for
access to the Weather Channel (even if you have a satellite dish).
RVers needing AA batteries, may want check out
It is also important to carry adequate maps and a good road atlas to find alternate
routes. If you travel with a computer, we strongly recommend a good mapping and
routing computer program such as DeLorme Street Atlas, and a GPS device to track
and determine your actual location.
Return to Home Page
Return to Newsletter
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