New weather alert system for phones

The Fort Worth National Weather Service uses both NexRad and the new CASA radars to monitor the skies for hazards. While the NexRad radar is great for scanning weather conditions up to 200-miles away, the 25-mile range CASA radar scans the atmosphere below the NexRad scan, allowing meteorologist access to areas where undetected tornados and other severe weather hazards may form. CASA radar images are sharper and can provide a better image of what is happening at ground level, giving weathermen the opportunity to track storms to your neighborhood.

As part of our emergency preparedness plan, Willow Park residents can receive the CASA weather radar images by downloading the free CASA Alerts app from the App Store or from the Google Play Store for Android. The app allows you to receive up-to-the-minute weather conditions, plus you can receive alerts for specific locations such as your home, school or business. Another benefit, you can chose the type of hazard alert you want to receive, such as a tornado warning but not heavy rain, and the distance away from your chosen locations, say within 10 miles, for the alerts.

As with any local disaster, the more you know about what is happening around you the better prepared you will be. The better prepared you are, the better you will fare.