Some rough weather made its way through Selma on Monday night, as strong winds and heavy rain made its way into the area before departing before the sun came up Tuesday.

There were some trees down here and there around the county, like the big oak that feel on Valley Creek Church Road, but not much other reported storm damage. We can all be thankful for that, but we also know this won’t be the last storm that comes through Selma.

That’s why it’s so important to be weather prepared and to do it now and not later.

One of the best ways to get prepared is to buy a weather radio. Most households rely on their television for severe weather information, but satellite dishes often fail when heavy rain starts falling and severe storms often knock the power out.

A weather radio, or at least a phone app that serves as one, is a great device to have around. The device is so loud that it can wake someone sleeping, which is important when storms form at night unexpectedly.

According to the National Weather Service, if you are aware of a weather event that is about to impact your area, you are more than likely to survive it.

The National Weather Service also stresses the important of having a plan already in place. Know where you and your family are going if a tornado or other weather emergency is threatening the area. Talk about it now, run through all of the details and things that can go wrong and figure out how to deal with them. When bad weather strikes, you’ll be glad you did.

We were lucky Monday night. Tornado watches remained as watches and our area was spared of a severe weather problem. We won’t always be so lucky. Get prepared now for when we aren’t.