Dusty Johnson: “recently, a tornado touched down with very little warning, completely destroying the town of Spencer, South Dakota. The…”

“recently, a tornado touched down with very little warning, completely destroying the town of Spencer, South Dakota. The Spencer disaster made me realize that every effort needs to be made in order to provide citizens with the earliest possible warning of imminent danger. In my efforts to find new ways to update South Dakota's antiquated early warning system, it was brought to my attention that an immediate solution to upgrading the system would be the use of NOAA Weather Radios. NOAA Weather Radios broadcast National Weather Service (NWS) warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day. These NOAA Weather Radios automatically sound an alarm and turn themselves on when a severe weather warning or emergency information is issued for a specific county. These radios receive a signal that is broadcast from NWS transmitters located throughout the state. Seventy percent of South Dakota's population currently can receive these NOAA Weather Radio warnings. However, due to the rural nature and dispersed population of South Dakota, there are not enough NWS radio transmitters to provide total NOAA Weather Radio coverage.”