Those of you who don't have cable

[pixxi]

For those of you who dropped cable and are now using hula,netflicks or other substitues, how do you know about bad weather? Usually if tornato activity is going on, a warning runs across the screen. A lot of the times I didn't see any bad weather for us to be worried but it showed on the tv. We were looking into dropping cable but would I need to get a weather radio then?

 

[JillianMarie]

If there is really bad weather rolling through, I'll usually get an alert on my phone. Then I might switch over to the channels I get through my rabbit ears. We've been without cable for over a year now and it's never been an issue. I mean, it's usually pretty rare that a tornado drops out of the sky without any warning at all so if the weather looks a little dicey or my pets are acting strangely I'll usually keep an eye on a network weather crawl or twitter or something.

 

[Sossy]

If you have a smartphone most weather apps can send you alerts for extreme weather. Otherwise, I really would suggest you get a weather radio if you are in tornado country. They aren't expensive and will last for decades, it is always better to know!

 

[kamik86]

Are you watching TV all the time? What if your TV wasn't on? How would you know then?

In my case there is a group that posts to facebook any alerts in our area. My phone will alert me to those. (Not that I live in an area of tornadoes and its hard not to notice that a flood or blizzard is happening if its started already)

I have been without cable for years and the only time I miss it is for the Olympics.

 

[wallawallakids]

My phone has an automatic weather alert as well.

Also, I can check the weather on the internet and my phone.

Lastly, we do have an emergency type radio that has weather alerts but we only use it in the middle of a storm or if we know a storm is coming. Like during Sandy this past year.

You would be surprised how much you do not need cable. We haven't had cable for over year and I do not miss it one bit and I am still informed of the news/weather/current events.

 

[Iowajes]

I have a weather radio. I have it programed to siren for the alerts I am interested in. This is mainly because my TV is not on all the time, especially not in the middle of the night.

But I'm not sure what this has to do with cable. Over-the-air TV has weather stations too. If you have cable, but are watching a movie on a DVD- the weather alert isn't going to show. So if you have over the air TV, when you watch those stations it will show, but if you were watching netflix it wouldn't. I don't think being alerted to weather has much to do with if you pay for TV or not.

It has been 8 years since we dropped cable. Don't regret it at all. (We do not subscribe to any pay service.)

 

[TravelMommy]

networks and a few other shopping stations, Fox, etc. When weather is bad, I turn on the local channels. I too have alerts sent to my phone. Would never go back to full cable again!

 

[mommadeb]

We have great local stations, both TV and radio, that run weather almost nonstop when there's a storm in the area. I've not had cable more years than I did have it and have never worried about being aware of the weather. That's not to say I'm oblivious. We just turn off other programming and listen to the weather until the system has passed.

 

[wendow]

We haven't had cable in 10 years or more. If I notice weird clouds or weather brewing, I just hop online.

 

[JB2K]

For those of you who dropped cable and are now using hula,netflicks or other substitues, how do you know about bad weather? Usually if tornato activity is going on, a warning runs across the screen. A lot of the times I didn't see any bad weather for us to be worried but it showed on the tv. We were looking into dropping cable but would I need to get a weather radio then?

You could get severe weather alerts from your local CBS/ABC/NBC/CW TV affiliates, which is your source for local news.

Even though the BB might say different, Hulu/Neflix is not the only thing...

 

[AquaDame]

We get alerts on our phones - I check weather daily before I get going to work. Even if we don't, people are talking about it everywhere you go - there are alerts at the train station, or you overhear it.

 

[lovesmurfs]

We haven't had cable in 10 years or more. If I notice weird clouds or weather brewing, I just hop online.

This.

 

[JillyBean1899]

Check with your local broadcast channels. WJHG and WMBB in my area have alerts they send when weather is bad. I'm signed up for the ones from WJHG, and I get the alert before it shows up on WeatherScan (the 24 hour local weather channel, which my granddad keeps on most of the day ... and is on now). I get everything from heat advisories to rip current warnings to tornado/thunderstorm, freeze warnings, wind advisories, you name it, I get it.

 

[mrodgers]

They are not flashing local weather alerts across AMC while you are watching The Walking Dead. You would get them the same way with or without cable, by tuning to the local network channels only with an antennae.

 

[wiigirl]

We get alerts on our phones - I check weather daily before I get going to work. Even if we don't, people are talking about it everywhere you go - there are alerts at the train station, or you overhear it.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We too have that super basic cable package for like7.00/mo and there is an all news channel on there. We watch little TV but we all have smart phones, lap tops and tablets and weather information is constantly updated on these, just like TV.

 

[wendow]

Not all areas have those super cheap basic cable plans. We cut cable in 2001 and at that time, we cut it because our cable company did away with the $11 a month plan that included local channels, a news channel, the weather channel, Discovery, WGN, TBS and a few shopping channels. I think now the cheapest you can get is around $30 per month. Of course that includes a lot more channels but we don't want to spend $30 a month nor do we want all those channels.

 

[littleelf]

They are not flashing local weather alerts across AMC while you are watching The Walking Dead. You would get them the same way with or without cable, by tuning to the local network channels only with an antennae.

Yes, they are. Whenever there is a severe weather warning (usually severe thunderstorms or flooding here but would also be tornado warnings) there's this horrible loud screeching and a warning that scrolls across on every cable channel. I know because my kids are always pausing the TV and muting it when it happens and then they restart it when it's over.

 

[mrsklamc]

We have an antenna and get several local stations.

You can download free apps that will alert you to severe weather if you are concerned.

 

[aprilchem]

Not all areas have those super cheap basic cable plans. We cut cable in 2001 and at that time, we cut it because our cable company did away with the $11 a month plan that included local channels, a news channel, the weather channel, Discovery, WGN, TBS and a few shopping channels. I think now the cheapest you can get is around $30 per month. Of course that includes a lot more channels but we don't want to spend $30 a month nor do we want all those channels.

I actually thought it was federal law that they were required to offer basic service, and it is, in fact. I don't think I can post links but it's on the fcc's website.