By KSN Chief Meteorologist Dave Freeman

May 2005 -- It's here: May, the number 1 month for tornadoes in the state of Kansas. As you read here last month, we have some powerful new tools and upgrades this spring in the KSN WeatherLab. We are ready to do our part, to live up to our promise, to track storms so that you will know when dangerous weather is approaching. So the next question is: are you ready to keep your family safe?

We are happy to offer some great tools to help your family be ready, in cooperation with our weather partners at Dillons! First, we invite you to visit your neighborhood Dillons store to buy your official KSN WeatherLab weather alert radio. I've said before that if it was up to me, weather alert radios would be just like smoke detectors--required by law in every home. These radios can be programmed to sound off when a weather warning is issued for your county. This is a great improvement over older technology that sounded alarms for a large group of counties. Now, you can keep the alerts down to just the ones that really matter to your family. So, when your weather alert radio goes off, you know it is definitely time to tune in to the KSN WeatherLab so we can track the storms for you. Here's another great plus: the special discounted price of just $29.99. If you shop around, you'll find that is a really outstanding price for this important technology!

While you are at Dillons, or when you visit us here in the KSN WeatherLab @ Exploration Place, you can also pick up some other great helpers for your family. Thanks to the generous support of our partners at Dillons, a new edition of the coloring book "When the Sky Goes Boom" is now available for free! I co-authored this book when my own kids were toddlers and beginning to be afraid of storms. It is a reassuring way to talk with your 2-5 year olds so that they can begin to understand storms. The book also makes a nice "early reader" for 1st or 2nd graders. "When the Sky Goes Boom" is available at most Dillons stores, and here at the KSN WeatherLab.

Also, we suggest you pick up your free storm tracking map and safety tips. This brochure features a very easy to read map of Kansas counties. This will make it very easy to track storms with us as they move across the state. The brochure also has some excellent information about how to prepare your family to stay safe when dangerous weather strikes. These brochures are also available at your neighborhood Dillons store.

We and our partners at Dillons sincerely hope you will take advantage of these tools to help keep your family safe this storm season. We will work very hard each and every night to track storms so that you and your family have the time you need to get to shelter when storms strike.

Dave Freeman
KSN Chief Meteorologist
weatherlab@ksn.com