Glad you're ok Montanero. Sounds like quite a day in NC! My-in laws were about a mile away from a twister too and have had the same thought about a weather radio. Sounds like a great idea!

We've got a Grundig FR-200. It was a gift and not at all high end but does the job. It runs on ac power, 3 AAs or crank. There's also another wrapped battery pack in there that I just noticed. I'll have to find out more about.

I've seen more advanced models that have a solar charger too.