Sign up for alerts ahead of severe weather in area

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte area has already seen rain and damaging winds in the last few days.
 
Carmen Taylor works off Tuckasegee Road near where a tree damaged an apartment, displacing the people who live there.
 
She said it's a reminder that severe weather season is upon us and she's prepared.

"I do have the apps on my phone to keep me posted on the weather and the updates," Taylor said.
 
Meteorologist Keith Monday has been tracking the latest storm system headed for the Carolinas and discussed all the technology that helps families prepare and stay safe. 
 
"We can't use the excuse anymore 'we didn't know it was coming.' The information is out there readily available for you to get," he said.
 
For the first time this year, you can get safety information and alerts through the state's ReadyNC app, which launched in January.  You can sign up here.
 
In the most populated county in our viewing area, residents can also sign up for notifications through Char-Meck alerts.
 
Around 200,000 were automatically signed up for voice alerts from the system because they are listed in the yellow or white pages. 
 
But only 7,100 people have signed up on their own. If you sign up for Char-Meck alerts online you can get critical information in a number of ways via cell, landline, text, email or the new mobile app. Plus, you can get notifications for up to five addresses and nine devices at a time.  You can sign up for Char-Meck alerts here.
 
"When you're in an emergency situation where you're already responding to life and death situations, allowing citizens to help themselves helps us prioritize," Emergency Management Planner Stacie Neal said.
 
The City of Concord also sent out an alert urging everyone to monitor conditions and have an emergency kit on hand.

Cabarrus County will also be putting out info from emergency management on Twitter @CabarrusCounty and Facebook.com/Cabarruscounty.

WSOC