How Best to Prepare Your Customers For 3 Weather Emergencies
Throughout the continental US, various severe weather events disrupt everyday life and can cause massive amounts of damage each year.
According to the NSSL, there are roughly 100,000 thunderstorms in any given year. Approximately 10% of those are severe—and that doesn’t account for winter weather.
What can you do to help your customers prepare for severe weather of many types?
Let’s look at some of the extremes nature has to offer, and what you can do to ensure your customers are weather aware and ready.
Winter Weather
Snow, sleet, and freezing rain can all create low visibility and dire travel situations, and most injuries/deaths often are not directly related to the storm itself.
The NSSL reports that people are often injured from or die due to “traffic accidents on icy roads… heart attacks while shoveling snow… [and] hypothermia from prolonged exposure due to cold.”
So, what’s the best course of action? Stay inside and keep warm! Portable heaters help keep smaller spaces warm, and if the power does go out, make sure your customers have backup and portable power options to stay in touch with loved ones and emergency services.
Weather radios can be lifesavers in winter weather situations.
Tornadoes
Tornadoes are one of the most violent and destructive types of severe weather. These occur around the world. However, the most common occurrences happen in the aptly named “tornado alley”. This is a region of the central US which sees an uptick in these storms during spring and summer.
According to the NSSL, about 1,200 tornadoes occur across the US every year, but “tornado records only date back to 1950, [so] we do not know the actual average number of tornadoes that occur each year.” And even though tornadoes most commonly occur in tornado alley during certain season, they can and have been recorded in all 50 states during every season!
So, what do your customers need to prepare for tornadoes?
First—and arguably most important—is a battery-operated weather radio or scanner.
Unlike hurricanes, there is often little early warning for tornadoes. While meteorologists can often assess how high the risk of a tornado is, they have no way to predict—and in some cases, even track—tornadoes. So, when one is spotted, your customers need to know immediately so they can take precautions. A battery-operated or hand-crank radio is ideal in the case of extended power losses. Additionally, flashlights and headlamps are good to have on hand for the same reason. And, in worst case scenarios, first aid and survival kits—especially those that contain emergency food and water—can be lifesavers.
Hurricanes
Hurricanes are massive tropical storms with sustained winds of over 74 miles per hour. They often combine the threat of severe thunderstorms with two other severe weather occurrences: damaging winds and floods.
Floods are particularly dangerous. According to the NSSL, “In the US floods kill more people each year than tornadoes, hurricanes or lightning.” Low spots, including underpasses, basements, and lower water crossing can be easily overwhelmed by flood waters—especially if the source is heavy, sustained rainfall from a hurricane or severe thunderstorm.
Damaging—or straight-line—winds are classified as winds exceeding 50 to 60 miles per hour, and “damage from severe thunderstorm winds account for half of all severe reports in the lower 48 states and is more common than damage from tornadoes. Wind speeds can reach up to 100 mph and can produce a damage path extending for hundreds of miles.”
Most severe thunderstorms produce straight-line winds, and hurricanes often set and break records for wind speeds.
If your customers are stuck in the path of a hurricane, what do they need to weather the storm? Weather radios, first aid kits, and lighting solutions are all necessities. Additionally, personal communication devices that don’t rely on cell towers can be important. 2-way radios are ideal for situations where communications are clogged or down, and power banks can keep other devices charged and ready for anything.
Weather Aware is Being Prepared
Often, the most important factor in staying safe during severe weather events is to be aware of any impending storms or watches. If caught unaware by severe weather, the situation could become dire. No matter where your customers live or what types of weather they face, make sure to stock up on severe weather supplies.
We have a great selection of weather radios, lighting solutions, first aid kits, and more here at Petra, so make sure to visit order.petra.com.