How a NOAA weather radio may have saved an Alabama family from a tornado

FULTONDALE, Ala. – Social media is buzzing Tuesday following a strong tornado that whipped through the Birmingham, Alabama area on Monday night.

One piece of weather technology may have made the difference between life and death for one family!

Let’s start with the tornado, which was spawned by a line of strong thunderstorms. It moved through the Fultondale community and has reportedly killed one person and injured 30 others.

Many are speculating that it will receive an EF-3 or EF-4 designation from the National Weather Service after storm surveys are completed.

Being that this storm was happening at night, many people in the Birmingham viewing area may have already been in bed as local meteorologists warned of the dangerous situation.

That was the case for Adam Sessums and his family. He tweeted that his NOAA weather radio alerted him about the tornado and he was able to evacuate his wife and baby from their bedroom. Good thing he did, because ten minutes later, a beam went through the wall and would have presumably hit where they were sleeping!

This situation serves as a helpful reminder that weather radios are a very useful tool to have in your home.

They work across all 50 states and other territories of the United States and they also will relay important weather information, even if cell phone service is down. Weather radios came in handy during the Nashville tornado last year when cell phone towers went down and residents lost their access to weather app alerts.

Consider buying and programming an NOAA weather radio for your home, so you’re prepared the next time severe weather threatens our corner of the Commonwealth!