Hurricane Prep: Consider Apps

As the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season approaches, consider the benefits of technology when reviewing your Emergency Action Plan.  There are many available communications for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry and Smartphone users, including those listed below.  Most have an associated cost so you’ll need to do your homework.

Flashlight App  When Japan experienced the tsunami, flashlight Apps were the # 1 download on smartphones.  This feature will come in handy during a power outage.

 Hurricane HD lets you track storms with moving radar and satellite imagery from the National Hurricane Center.  It provides tropical bulletins, forecasts, and advisories.  You can watch video updates for current storms and find data on major storms of the past.

The Weather Channel has fully customizable weather maps, animated radar maps, detailed weather conditions and forecasts, severe weather alerts, and a notification bar with the current temperature and severe weather alert indicator. It allows you to get weather forecasts for your location or search by city,  ZIP Code, street address, or landmark.  This App also includes interactive maps that are fully customizable and feature the functionality of Google Maps. You can decide to display layers such as radar, clouds, UV index, rainfall, and more.

AccuWeather’s iPad App has an advanced Hurricane Center that lets you track the latest hurricanes.  The current position and expected paths of active hurricanes are plotted on a Google Map. All news stories and expert videos related to the tropics are easily accessed.  Weather warnings are displayed on the forecast page to keep you alert of any weather-related watches or warnings for your area.

Hurricane Hub is a comprehensive hurricane information portal with everything from NOAA forecasts, current storm maps, eye-witness reports and general hurricane information and trivia to tips for riding out a storm, donating or volunteering in relief efforts, and tools for reconnecting family members after a storm. It offers quick access to an overview map of active storms, computer models of projected paths from different agencies via SkeetobiteWeather.com, three- and five-day cones for active storms from NOAA, and satellite imagery of different ocean basins from Weather Underground.

Global Alert Network delivers hands-free national traffic and weather alerts. See iTunes for Apple devices or go to BlackBerry for a download.  The Global Alert Network automatically broadcasts audible hands-free alerts to mobile devices. You can choose to subscribe to weather or traffic alerts, which are geo-targeted to your location.

One last consideration:  You may not have power after a hurricane.  Prior to the storm, be sure to fully charge your electronic devices.  Also consider purchasing a solar charger to keep your smartphones, tablets, and other small devices operable.