Tornado Sirens

GalvestonDuck · #21 Postby **GalvestonDuck** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 8:17 am

I do remember that they *used* to have them in Louisville, KY...but that was YEARS ago.

#22 Postby **azskyman** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 8:40 am

Strange but true.

Our hometown in Illinois bought and installed sirens in 1968...a year after an F4 tornado killed 24 of our residents and injured more than 450.

They have been upgraded and are tested one Tuesday a month in the morning unless severe weather is threatening.

A continuous tone for 3 minutes or longer means take cover; a wailing tone up and down means all-clear.

Warnings are triggered when an official tornado warning has been issued for the county OR when a spotter calls in a sighting.

Website · #23 Postby **Brent** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 8:51 am

Yes... ACROSS the STREET! Thing will wake a dead person. :eek:

Website · #24 Postby **Brent** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 8:52 am

jkt21787 wrote:Here in Memphis one problem is the sirens go off for the entire county during a warning. For instance, a couple of weeks ago we had a tornado warning that traveled about 5 miles through the extreme southeast corner of the county, but the sirens sounded everywhere, and in the northwest part of the county there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Something that has needs to be fixed I believe.

That happens here. I live in the Southeast corner of the county so the Northwest part is 35 miles away. Bugs the heck out of me! :grr:

TexasStooge · #25 Postby **TexasStooge** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 9:16 am

Yesterday after the tornado sirens here were tested around the city, one of the sirens near my mom's workplace made one of her fellow employees jump up and run for cover. She had the right idea, just wrong situation. :lol:

Back when I was like 4-5 years old, I was at a park with other friends from a Daycare Center. at Noon, I was hearing the Windsor Chimes going off from the sirens (back then I didn't know they were sirens), then an hour later, I heard a steady tone going off near me and I was like "Miss, the bells are dysfunctional!!" 2 years later, my mom explained to me that they are tornado sirens.

Skywatch_NC · #26 Postby **Skywatch_NC** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 12:07 pm

No warning sirens here in Raleigh which is insane since the Southeast is as prone to tornadoes as the Midwest, Plains, etc! :eek:

Eric

jkt21787 · #27 Postby **jkt21787** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:01 pm

GalvestonDuck wrote:I do remember that they *used* to have them in Louisville, KY...but that was YEARS ago.

Louisville doesn't have sirens now? Were they not hit during the Superoutbreak in 74 and also last May?

Skywatch_NC wrote:No warning sirens here in Raleigh which is insane since the Southeast is as prone to tornadoes as the Midwest, Plains, etc!

No sirens in Raleigh either? Another city that really needs them, and as you say are very prone to tornadoes.

Skywatch_NC · #28 Postby **Skywatch_NC** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:36 pm

jkt21787 wrote:
GalvestonDuck wrote:I do remember that they *used* to have them in Louisville, KY...but that was YEARS ago.

Louisville doesn't have sirens now? Were they not hit during the Superoutbreak in 74 and also last May?

Skywatch_NC wrote:No warning sirens here in Raleigh which is insane since the Southeast is as prone to tornadoes as the Midwest, Plains, etc!

No sirens in Raleigh either? Another city that really needs them, and as you say are very prone to tornadoes.

Parts of Raleigh were even hit hard by one on November 28th, 1988 resulting in 4 deaths...2 of them children...and over 157 injuries.

TexasStooge · #29 Postby **TexasStooge** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:47 am

Skywatch_NC wrote:No warning sirens here in Raleigh which is insane since the Southeast is as prone to tornadoes as the Midwest, Plains, etc!

Eric

Could've been worse, you could end up in a city with no sirens and no weather radio coverage.

Skywatch_NC · #30 Postby **Skywatch_NC** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:55 am

TexasStooge wrote:
Skywatch_NC wrote:No warning sirens here in Raleigh which is insane since the Southeast is as prone to tornadoes as the Midwest, Plains, etc!

Eric

Could've been worse, you could end up in a city with no sirens and no weather radio coverage.

That's true. Guess I'm just used to having tornado sirens in my community after having lived in Ohio for 20 years is all.

StormChasr · #31 Postby **StormChasr** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:59 am

None here in the Daytona/Ormond area

TexasStooge · #32 Postby **TexasStooge** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:06 pm

PurdueWx80 wrote:I much prefer the Wed. noon test as opposed to the Saturday morning tests back in Indiana - I was awoken by those far too many times after a hard night of good ole college drinkin'.

Speaking of Saturday Morning, that day 2 years ago, I heard a nearby siren beeping. :eek:

I thought it was the fire alarms from an Elementary School I use to go to, but from the fading in and fading out beeping, it was a siren. No tornado warnings were issued, so it must've been a kid messing with it.

TexasStooge · #33 Postby **TexasStooge** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 2:19 pm

JenBayles wrote:... I still can't get used to Houston with no sirens when a tornado warning is issued. Dave tells me Houston had them in the older parts of town as part of the old civil defense system from the cold war days, but they were long gone by the time I got here.

Dallas still has some of those as well, the city is planning on upgrading the outdoor warning system in the near future.

David · #34 Postby **David** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 3:13 pm

Topeka has many throughout the city. Always tested on every Monday at noon. The one siren on each pole (compared to the 6 in the first post) circles around until the test or alert is done.

therock1811 · #35 Postby **therock1811** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 3:56 pm

I'm not used to being home on Wednesdays at noon. So, when I went to the mall this morning, and came out at noon to hear the sirens, I almost ran back inside to take cover, thinking this was the real deal. Until I realized it couldn't be real, as it was partly cloudy where I was, and there was no sign of rain anywhere near by.

https://www.youtube.com/user/senorpepr · #36 Postby **senorpepr** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 7:23 pm

We had several in the town I lived in south of Kansas City. They were pretty loud. When I lived in Mississippi, there weren't any. Where I was living in Western Sarpy Co., Nebraska, there were some, but they were a distance away. Now, I live much closer to the military base, so the "giant voice" (aka über-large loudspeaker) gives verbal warnings. I'm still getting used to that.

#37 Postby **azskyman** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 11:12 pm

My hometown of Belvidere Illinois bought tornado sirens the very next spring after the F4 tornado leveled part of our town, killed 24 people, and injured more than 450. They have kept them a part of their warning system for the last 38 years...testing them on one Tuesday a month.

The day of the tornado I could hear one distant police siren trying to warn people of the approaching storm. It was like one person yelling at the top of their lungs across the grand canyon....too little, too late.

#38 Postby **streetsoldier** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 11:15 pm

Sikeston and Miner (to the east) have them, but they habitually (and incorrectly) sound the "wailing, dropping, wailing" signal for a nuclear attack. :roll:

TexasStooge · #39 Postby **TexasStooge** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 1:52 pm

streetsoldier wrote:Sikeston and Miner (to the east) have them, but they habitually (and incorrectly) sound the "wailing, dropping, wailing" signal for a nuclear attack.

One of the sirens near a high school sounded like that as well.

TexasStooge · #40 Postby **TexasStooge** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 12:51 pm

As I mentioned din this topic, Dallas has at least 94 sirens that are at least 30+ years old. Some are rusted in place to the point where they can't be rotated.

Tornado Sirens

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