Hillbilly Heaven
Explorer
I've never felt the need for anything more than NOAA WX radio for information out beyond the next couple of hours and my own two eyes for the immediate information. But where I live there aren't hurricanes and that may change things. I'll say this that weather radio is extremely useful to me and all I need is the handheld radio I have with me anyway.
I agree that a WX radio is a very essential item. My intent was not to replace the WX radio but as a supplement. I would advise anyone to take a SkyWarn class offered for free from their local National Weather Service. It only takes a few hours and covers the basics in recognizing storm patterns. For those not familiar with SkyWarn it is designed to train civilians to be weather spotters and to report information back to NWS. No it is not storm chasers.