These products help keep you safe during storm season

In our part of the country, storms can do much more than water lawns and gardens. They can crush the flowers, flood yards and ravage homes and trees.

As the winter storm season approaches, it's good to know when nasty weather is coming and to be ready to deal with the problems that it can leave behind. 

The Color LCD Wireless Weather Station from La Crosse Technology. It’s a little more expensive than some weather monitors, but it has a few more features than the others. The color screen, for example, is larger and easier to read than displays on smaller monitors.

The system includes a weather-resistant sensor that you mount outside where it transmits outdoor temperature and humidity readings to the indoor base station. The base station uses a standard power cord but it has a battery backup that will keep it going if it loses AC power.

When a storm knocks out power to your house, it's good to have an flashlight handy and even better to have one that doesn't depend on disposable batteries. 

Blackout Buddy

The Blackout Buddy H20 is an inexpensive emergency light that powers up when it's dipped in a cup of water. Dip the flashlight once a day and it will keep working for up to 72 hours. 

Television weather reporters use Doppler radar to show when storms are approaching and where they're headed within their entire broadcast area. You can get your own personal radar view with mobile apps like Dark Sky for Apple devices or RadarScope for Apple and Android. They let you zoom in for a detailed look at weather activity in your neighborhood.

Ambient Weather Band Radio

Dark Sky matches radar and GPS data to predict when rain or snow will begin in your location, down to the minute, and how long it will last. RadarScope digs deeper with details like reflectivity and velocity that would interest weather pros and hobbyists. But even average folks would appreciate the alerts it delivers for tornados, flash floods and thunderstorms.

The Weather Band radio from Ambient Weather is a multi-purpose device that doesn't depend on batteries. It has both a solar panel and a hand crank to keep it powered when the lights go out. 

The radio will tune in local AM and FM channels along with the NOAA weather broadcasts. It also contains an LED flashlight and a USB port for charging portable devices like a smartphone or an ebook reader.

Jackery Giant

Finally, you'll need communication and entertainment while you wait for crews to restore power, cable and telephone service. 

There are lots of USB chargers on the market but few can match the Jackery Giant for speed and power.

The Giant is larger and heavier than most portable battery chargers, but it has enough muscle to simultaneously refuel both a full-sized tablet and a smartphone more than once. It will also hold its own charge for up to six months.

Here’s a full review of the Jackery Giant at PowerBank Expert.

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Written by Ric Manning

Follow me on Twitter @ricmanning and read my technology columns at My Well Being.