Tornado & Severe Storm Warning via GPS & Smartphone

Yes, Iowa got hit pretty hard yesterday with a series of tornados. Lots of property damage, but so far, reports indicate only minor injuries and no loss of life. Fortunately for me, the storms were about 75 miles west of me, although I do have a couple of cousins in the area. I hope to hear later today how they fared. In my area of east central Iowa, we got some much needed rain and a badly needed cooling off. Several days of mild weather predicted ... good riding weather I hope.

Hello,
I bought a new GPS Garmin Drive Assist 51 that came with a power cable no traffic. I connected my old traffic cable and told me that the cable was incompatible. I read the manual, I saw that I need to download the smartphone link. I saw that I also can buy a power cable for traffic. I know we can connect the Bluetooth, what I don`t know is if I can use the app without data on the phone.

What I am going ask you is, when using the app do I need to have internet on to work property.

I appreciate if you can clarify this since you are a user of the app.

Thank you for the information you can give about the this matter.

@icedog ... you need to have data enabled on your phone for Smartphone Link Traffic to work. The data usage is quite minimal, but it is required for the app to work.

I will also say that Smartphone Link traffic is far superior to the FM based traffic receivers, so the small data usage is worth it IMO. I would suggest you give it a try on a short trip then check your data usage before and after.

To get the source data for these and other warnings, poke around https://www.weather.gov/alerts.

I have this link tailored to specific locations on my home computer favorites list as well as on my smartphone. I use it frequently and it's a great service.

I also have the NOAA Hi Def Radar Pro app and the Weather Channel Storm app on my smartphone. All give me warnings of severe weather in my area.

I guess I wasn't clear in my original post. The point was, I think GPS receivers could also be employed to provide the same detailed storm warning information. Considering the number of people who use these devices, it would be a relatively easy way to increase public safety.

It could be done (better) via an app like Smartphone Link, the built in traffic receiver or a chip in the GPS itself. The transmit / receive network is already in place. It shouldn't be all that difficult to get it to display on a GPS screen.

To quote the US Army, "forewarned is forearmed".

Got a "gale Warning" message on my DriveLuxe 50 a couple of weeks ago. I don't live in a place that would get tornado's but if Smartphone Link is reporting gale warnings I'd guess that it would report other severe storm warnings as well.

thanks for good site

I was unaware that some GPS units included these warnings. Thanks for posting.

@bdhsfz6 and @t923347 ... Are you using the free Smartphone Link version or do you have the Advanced Weather add-on ($4.99/year)? I have thought about trying the Advanced Weather, but not sure if it is worth it.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/automotive/how-to-receive-...

I'm not sure about them but I have the advanced weather with my Smartphone Link app. It was a one-time purchase, not an annual subscription. When first offered, the various premium services were annual subscriptions but I think they all switched to lifetime quite a while ago. Even though the link you offered is straight from Garmin, it must be several years old since it refers to annual subscriptions.

Check it out:

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/111441

and drop down to the Premium Live Services

A 1-time purchase may be required for premium content section that describes traffic cameras (not to be confused with red-light or speed cameras), advanced weather, and dynamic off-street parking.

I'm using the Advanced Weather subscription in the SmartPhone Link application. If I paid for it (it was a few years ago) it was a ONE Time charge. It wouldn't have been more than the $4.99 now being charged.

My GPS wouldn't support these kinds of things, but I've grown to like Dark Skies and NOAA Radar Pro weather apps. They both work very well.

Thanks to Craig and Rick on the info about Advanced Weather app. Cheaper than a glass of beer, I guess I should add it to my Smartphone Link. I have wasted money on far more stupid things

The $4.99 was a one time charge for me as well.

While better than nothing, I'm not impressed with the Smartphone Link advanced weather function.

I would like to know if anyone has received a tornado warning via Smartphone Link and if so, at what distance and how accurate was the report.

I don't live in "Tornado Alley" but the number of tornados in my neck of the woods is on the increase. Climate change perhaps??

6 have passed within 30 miles of my home in the last 2 years. An EF1 destroyed several homes and a business just 1.5 miles from me in 2014. I know this is nothing compared to what you folks in the mid west face but it's still a cause for concern.

Your SmartLink will only produce an alert on your GPS. It will not alert you on your phone.

I didn't know about this potential feature. I have to check my standalone GPS units!

Hi, I appreciate your info.
I will try.