The Outer Banks and Hampton Roads communities have already experienced some very extreme weather this summer, with Arthur being the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It is the earliest in the season a hurricane has made landfall in North Carolina. Just last week, strong storms spawned what was believed to be a tornado in the Oceanfront area of Virginia Beach. And Hampton Roads continues to see a great deal of flooding, especially in Norfolk and on the Peninsula.
Today's technology allows us to be better prepared than ever before. Several apps and websites provide severe weather email and text alerts at little or no cost. The National Weather Service does not provide direct email/SMS alerts to the general public. But they have provided an online listing of those third party sources that do deliver those notifications. For more information, visit http://www.weather.gov/subscribe.
Many local television stations also provide apps that include several weather alerts, including:
ABC WVEC - http://www.wvec.com/marketplace/microsite-content/WVEC-Mobile.html
CBS WTKR - http://wtkr.com/newschannel-3-app-center/
NBC WAVY - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wavy-tv-10-norfolk-hampton/id488237027?mt=8