Anybody else in the western New York area get an AMBER alert yesterday?

[richwoodrocket]

As the title suggests, I got one yesterday. Never got one before. Thought it was a bit weird because there was no other information other than the description of a car. Got the same one today again. Tried google but I got mixed results...

 

[balamw]

http://wivb.com/2014/06/23/amber-alert-issued-for-16-year-old-near-rochester/

B

 

[Southern Dad]

A safe ending to an Amber Alert and proof that they do indeed work.

 

[richwoodrocket]

Oh ok

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A safe ending to an Amber Alert and proof that they do indeed work.

If Apple really wanted it to work they would have the capability on all iPhones capable of the latest iOS...

 

[Jessica Lares]

That's awful. I'm glad it was quickly handled.

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I like the way the alert system works on the iPhone. Not so much the loud noise it makes. My Nokia Lumia 520 had a much quieter alert. I always happen to be falling asleep when one comes through, or it just makes me freak out. I'm very sensitive to stuff like that.

And yeah, there's a limitation on the way notifications work across devices, so they have to be brief. There are some weather apps that will send these alerts too which are the full plaintext versions.

 

[richwoodrocket]

Anybody else in the western New York area get an AMBER alert yesterday?

That's awful. I'm glad it was quickly handled.



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I like the way the alert system works on the iPhone. Not so much the loud noise it makes. My Nokia Lumia 520 had a much quieter alert. I always happen to be falling asleep when one comes through, or it just makes me freak out. I'm very sensitive to stuff like that.



And yeah, there's a limitation on the way notifications work across devices, so they have to be brief. There are some weather apps that will send these alerts too which are the full plaintext versions.

My phone was on silent when I hit it so there was no noise for me. And when you get it when you're using your phone, it just has the options for dismiss and settings. Not very helpful.
It's interesting how it not goes to selective iPhones. Based on area code?

 

[Jessica Lares]

My phone was on silent when I hit it so there was no noise for me. And when you get it when you're using your phone, it just has the options for dismiss and settings. Not very helpful.
It's interesting how it not goes to selective iPhones. Based on area code?

Based on GPS location I think.

Alerts are just like any popup message. Not very helpful to us, but helpful for those that need the message spread around.

I've noticed that the weather alerts vary. They don't push out most of the severe weather alerts that go out on TV. It's kinda like the radio where they only push the most critical ones.

It is sad that I actually get these often enough to analyze patterns.

 

[jeremysteele]

Didn't get one here in Syracuse, but I sure read about it on the news this morning (she got arrested for illegally having a handgun and apparently faking a kidnapping... the heck?).

It's strange - I haven't gotten a single weather alert in NY (even the tornado warnings the other day... poor verona!) - but when I was down south last year I got them constantly on my Razr for any alerts in a 100 mile or so radius. Maybe they operate differently in NY, or they just don't have that yet?

 

[richwoodrocket]

Didn't get one here in Syracuse, but I sure read about it on the news this morning (she got arrested for illegally having a handgun and apparently faking a kidnapping... the heck?).

It's strange - I haven't gotten a single weather alert in NY (even the tornado warnings the other day... poor verona!) - but when I was down south last year I got them constantly on my Razr for any alerts in a 100 mile or so radius. Maybe they operate differently in NY, or they just don't have that yet?

I haven't gotten any weather alerts either. Although I just got my 5c in March and there hasn't been any terrible weather since then here

 

[jeremysteele]

I haven't gotten any weather alerts either. Although I just got my 5c in March and there hasn't been any terrible weather since then here

Yeah, it's sort of weird. Maybe NY just doesn't send that many out?

When I was in Atlanta I got at least 1 weather alert a week it seemed like. Used to get alerts for heavy rain, heavy wind, tstorms (anything above a "strong" storm), etc. Actually came in handy when I was out running and such - since in the south it can go from sunny and perfect to a severe t'storm in about 3 minutes thanks to those lovely cloud-bursts.

 

[The Doctor11]

I got it! They found the person soon after

 

[Jessica Lares]

I got a weather alert on Wednesday for the flash flood warning here. Weird enough, I didn't get one while watching TV all afternoon.

Depending on the thunderstorms later today, could be getting another one in the afternoon. (We have to be protected by the golf and baseball sized hail we usually get - Insurance companies LOVE it here. )

We get followups on AMBER alerts on the TV, but not our phones.

 

[satcomer]

I got a weather alert on Wednesday for the flash flood warning here. Weird enough, I didn't get one while watching TV all afternoon.

Depending on the thunderstorms later today, could be getting another one in the afternoon. (We have to be protected by the golf and baseball sized hail we usually get - Insurance companies LOVE it here. )

We get followups on AMBER alerts on the TV, but not our phones.

Same here in Southern Tier.

 

[jeremysteele]

So, interesting.... I'm on verizon and didn't get any warnings for this latest storm happening now (tornado warnings everywhere in central NY), but my friend on AT&T did. Guess verizon is lagging behind in this area?

Edit: scratch that. One of my friends (2 blocks away) got the warning on verizon. Weird.

 

[Jessica Lares]

Thanks for waking me up at 5:30AM to alert me about a flash flood warning National Weather Service. No seriously, I've only had two hours of sleep.

There was no alert sent out two days ago, and like the majority of the trees in our neighborhood, along with one of our backyard ones, were destroyed. The TV displayed a message about the storm, but the iPhone sent nothing out.

It is pretty weird, but I'm too tired to come up with any reasoning on why it's done that way. We're not going to get up, and try to go to work early with an alert like that.

 

[yg17]

I turned off the AMBER alerts after one woke me up a few months ago. It's terrible that a kid's missing, but there's nothing I'm going to do about it at 3 in the morning.

The weather alerts are a different story, living in tornado alley and all that. I keep those on. Although the last time there was an overnight tornado warning, the sirens woke me up before I got the alert on my phone.

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So, interesting.... I'm on verizon and didn't get any warnings for this latest storm happening now (tornado warnings everywhere in central NY), but my friend on AT&T did. Guess verizon is lagging behind in this area?

Edit: scratch that. One of my friends (2 blocks away) got the warning on verizon. Weird.

Heh, we were once in a meeting at work, probably about 10 of us or so, and everyone has AT&T except one person had Verizon. It was storming pretty bad outside. All at once, 9 phones in unison started loudly screeching with the weather alert and a few minutes later the one Verizon phone started making noise.

 

[Jessica Lares]

The alert went off three hours later again. Oh gosh, it's times like these that I just want to turn them off.

I've noticed that they were for flash flood warnings, and not just regular flooding, which is still in effect.

I would personally rather rely on the sirens. It'd be interesting if they matched warnings to the road paths you take everyday.

 

[richwoodrocket]

The alert went off three hours later again. Oh gosh, it's times like these that I just want to turn them off.



I've noticed that they were for flash flood warnings, and not just regular flooding, which is still in effect.



I would personally rather rely on the sirens. It'd be interesting if they matched warnings to the road paths you take everyday.

That seems a little too creepy for me.
But I guess these amber alerts could be expanded greatly in terms of features.

 

[Jessica Lares]

That seems a little too creepy for me.
But I guess these amber alerts could be expanded greatly in terms of features.

It's creepy, yes, but I think it would be better for all of us. The solution shouldn't only to be turning them off.

I don't think you'd want to be mistaken for a missing person at a shopping center. Think that's why they keep it simple. People already go knocking on the wrong doors looking for their stolen devices.