Alexa can save your life by telling you if severe weather is coming

Tornados, like the one that recently hit Nashville, Tennessee, can happen any time of year, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. They can also occur just about anywhere in the country. Early warning is important with an impending tornado, or any type of major weather event such as flooding, strong winds, and hail because it gives you time to take shelter. While you can get severe weather alerts through your phone with apps, Alexa has a new feature that may save lives as well.

Alexa in a storm — Composite photo with images by Moritz Böing and Amazon

Now you can get severe weather alerts from Alexa, which can be particularly useful if you tend to have your phone on silent while you sleep or work. To set up the feature say, “Alexa, tell me when there’s a severe weather alert.” The next time there is a local severe weather warning, Alexa will let you know. Don’t worry, if you find you don’t like the alerts, you can turn them off by simply saying, “Alexa, turn off severe weather alerts.”

This isn’t the only new Alexa feature revealed recently. You can also now ask Alexa to send you information about your daily commute, traffic conditions, or directions to a destination to your phone, so as you leave the house you can take all of your important information with you. To use this feature ask Alexa what information you need, then tell her to send it to your phone. For example, you could ask, “Alexa, how is the traffic to the airport?” When you get the answer you simply say, “Alexa, send that to my phone.” After a confirmation from Alexa, you’ll get a notification on your phone. In this example, tapping on the notification would send route guidance to the airport to your phone’s map app.

Another new feature is for basketball fans, just in time for March Madness. Miss a game or want to relive a great moment? You can now watch NBA game highlights on Alexa devices that have a screen, like the Echo Show. To see clips say, “Alexa, play the (your favorite team) highlights.” Then, the highlights from your team’s most recent game will play on the screen. If you want the best clips from all of the recent games throughout the league say, “Alexa, play the NBA highlights.”

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