for the more mundane use like tornado warning, I have both a Midland W300 and Reecom weather alert (SAME) radio... I really like the Reecom, but I did not choose the more expensive model with the AM/FM capability, but would do so if had been my only radio... it runs on AAs as well as a wall plug... I like the Reecom as the alert is received as voice in addition to the alert tone