Spring and early summer have most area residents headed to the outdoors, but this time of year can also bring the risk of being caught in a hazardous storm. One of the most important tools everyone can have with them is their smartphone, and a few simple steps ahead of time can help keep you safe and in touch with loved ones during a weather emergency. Always make sure your phone is charged up and ready to go and keep a car charger or portable power source with you. Develop an emergency plan for different scenarios. The most fatalities occur during floods, tornadoes and extreme heat and the ready.gov website can help you and your family be more prepared. Download one of the many free weather apps available on the App Store and Google Play and activate their emergency notifications. These include Accuweather, The Weather Channel, WeatherBug, Weather Line, Weather Underground, Yahoo Weather and many more. If you find yourself caught out in a weather-related event, service providers recommend you try texting instead of calling. If phone service is impacted because of a storm, there could be higher than normal volume on mobile networks, so even if a call can’t be placed, a text requires less bandwidth and may still go through. Your social media accounts can also be used to get real-time updates from those in specific areas.