Enhancement - Weather Info

That is a great idea! I love it.

Between cell phone & computer I have several apps I use both at home, and when traveling that do what you think a gps ought to do that - with minimal input from me - those, plus NWS Radio, and traditional broadcast media - there really is no reason someone can not know about impending severe weather other than choosing not to know - and there's where personal responsibility comes into play. Take care of yourself & your own, then help your neighbors.

I am an emergency manager. NOBODY is more plugged in than I am to emergency weather info. BUT, that doesn't cover me when I'm away from my "home" area. I get notified of anything within 150 miles, but it's my business to know. The average Joe will have an NOAA radio (which are going away BTW) and MAYBE a text notification system, but that's tied to their home county. When driving, rarely do they listen to radio anymore. It's either satellite or iPods. While I can "feel" storms, many travelers can't.

I'm talking about the out of area guy cruising down the highway. We in the business have been pushing for text notifications based on location, but that's a long ways off and will require fed legislation. They are way too busy spending out money.

I'm ALL ABOUT personal responsibility, but sometimes folks don't know what county they are in or the threat that a "Severe TStorm Warning" could be. AND, I'd certainly LOVE to be routed around potential hail or severe wx, especially if the time differences isn't significant.

I agree with this idea. Just drove from california to Idaho with my family in our motorhome. I used the Garmin but listened to the Giants/D'backs on XM but when that ended, turned the radio off. Many places along the highway where we had no cell signal so even if the gov'ment implements that form of contact we would be out of luck. We had a GPS signal all the way of course.

The Garmin 1690 and 1695 comes with a 1 year service that is supposed give you weather. After that it is $60 a year.

Granted these are $300 units and I have no experience with this service but it looks to me that the technology is on the way.

Granted tornado's seem to come out of no where with little to no warning. You still get dark warning clouds of some kind. The sky should be a good warning to listen to the radio.

MSN had weather, however it is going out of business. Most of the time it was 1/2 hour or more old. 1/2 hour is a lifetime when it comes to weather.

.....but from the service that sends the traffic data or similar; typically a sub-carrier on an FM radio station. I suspect there are many places where THAT wouldn't be present either.

I don't think you have thought this through. Who would broadcast the information and from where?

It's not going to come across the traffic receiver, there aren't enough stations to give coverage except in select markets. Secondly, traffic info is a low-power digital signal riding in the allocation given to an FM station. That means it needs a special receiver, like what comes with SOME units and not all.

Cell phones are much more common than nav units, so your idea would reach even fewer people than those that had cell phones.

NOAA weather stations also don't cover everywhere, and weather alerts on one of the allocated channels is prefaced with a special digital code for the affected area. As the channel changes with area, are you going to have multiple receivers in a unit? Remember, these stations are broadcasting all the time, so you can't just scan a channel list for the active station.

The thought is nice, but totally unworkable without some method of the unit transmitting it's information to a network of receivers that tracks location so it would know what content it could receive - oh wait, your cell phone does that already.

That's the part number for a Garmin device that will allow you to subscribe to an XM Weather service and display on a compatible Garmin device. The Zumo 550 is about the only current one for on-road vehicle use... there are other products for aviation & boating that are XM Weather friendly.

The technology is there for those who choose to make use of it.

My-Cast comes to mind.. $3.99 for the app - and $9.99 a year gets you push notifications of warnings. Open the app, and one click gets you weather based on your Current GPS location; and you can have preset locations.

Actually, I did think it out. My original post acknowledged that it would only work in those areas currently serviced by the traffic alerts, which is the major metros, but that's a start. I'm well aware of the limitations in rural areas. Yes, cell phones would be a better way, but folks are resistant to cells reporting their locations and it would require federal legislative to establish a standard. Those areas that are currently serviced by traffic data could be serviced with weather alerts with little technology changes. THEN, public safety dollars could assist in setting up transmitters in the less populated areas.

NWS already transmits the data. The traffic systems just have to receive it and include it in their data. Why does anyone need to transmit where they are at? Your GPS now doesn't tell anyone where it is to get traffic data. Few GPS's transmit anything. They are passive devices. The traffic data is transmitted and the GPS figures out if the locations in the traffic data intersect your path. Same for storm alerts. (I'm not talking every rain or snow event, just dangerous weather). The coordinates of the warning polygon are transmitted, the GPS figures out if your path intersects that polygon.

The "apps" mentioned, don't. I've got MyCast. I can look and see what's coming, but it doesn't alert me that I am in or approaching a dangerous area. It tells me when my counties are affected, but not where I am or where I'm going. You don't have hours with tornadoes. You have minutes, maybe less than 4. It's not like Hollywood folks.

So, I'm in a metro area on a stormy day. My GPS alerts me that a tornado warning has been issued for the area I am in. That's minutes I didn't have before.

And for the gazillionith time, cell phones, tweets, etc are NOTORIOUSLY UNRELIABLE in storm conditions. You cannot rely on them from lifesaving bulletins.

And the data transmission technology you long for is just as susceptible being rendered non-functional due to the same conditions that render cell phones "notoriously unreliable".

My phone alerts me, my GPS gives me the location awareness - combine the information from the two - and I've not lost any time in making a decision.

MyCast has a one-click to GPS locate you, display maps, and any current warnings for that location. Works for me to give me enough data to make reasonable, appropriate decisions for self preservation.

Your cellular carrier is constantly tracking your whereabouts so it can deliver calls quickly and efficiently. It knows which are the closest towers and the backoffice routing software will route an incoming call to the controller for the group of towers nearest you. That's all automatic. Your cell phone also reports GPS location information. As an emergency manager, you should already know that.

The biggest fight recently has been over the required accuracy of the location. Cell carriers want it within 300 meters, the PSAPs want 30 meters. Transmission of the location is automatic with every 9-1-1 call. Not all centers have been upgraded to E911, but the number needing upgrade is diminishing rapidly.

As to apps, they only run on smart phones and not everyone carries one, so the number of people reachable would probably be larger than those with PNDs, but again it requires cellular coverage.

The GXM 40 carries a hefty price tag of $120 per year for WX only and, as stated, onnly works with a few units. So, for all practical purposes, getting weather alerts out to the traveling public in any given area is still almost impossible. Well, it's doable, but would the public pay the additional fees?