Tornado Sirens?

[azskyman]

After the tornado in our hometown back in 1967, the city council found plenty of money to purchase tornado sirens to install. They sit atop power poles or other similar structures and rotate while they wail.

They are still tested, I think, on the first Tuesday of every month at 10:30 am unless there is threatening weather at that time.

Does your town have tornado sirens, and if so, can you hear them clearly under most circumstances? Finally...do they have a regular testing day each week or month?

If you don't have any warning sirens, do you have access to good reception of NOAA weather radio?

No sirens here in Scottsdale. With the country's largest nuclear power facility west of Phoenix, maybe they should have.

[pojo]

yes, we do have sirens...and yes they are tested every Saturday at 12noon. (In Menasha). There is a siren down a few blocks from my moms house...and they are loud!

[ColdFront77]

There are no tornado sirens in southeastern Massachusetts. Here in Florida as far as I know there aren't any.

I am able to pick up the Melbourne, FL National Weather Service office at 162.475 MHz very well. On my very first day in Florida (Tuesday, June 6, 2000) I was able to pick up the Jackonsville, FL NWS/NOAA Weather Radio broadcast at 162.550 MHz and the Ruskin, FL (Tampa Bay Area) at 162.400 MHz.

I checked 162.525 MHz the other night, I am not sure which of the three offices it is.

[JetMaxx]

We have tornado warning sirens throughout Douglasville and large portions of Douglas County...and can hear them well from my location (always give me a rush!!).

They (EMA/ E911) are supposed to test them at high noon on the first Wednesday of the month, but are sometimes lax about it...and I've chastised them about it.
Folks need to know what they are, and make certain they can hear them BEFORE a tornadic situation occurs.

NOAA Weather Radio can be heard loud and clear at my location with my Radio Shack S.A.M.E. equipped model....I prefer to monitor the transmitter in Buchanan, GA instead of the one atop Stone Mountain because I like to keep two eastern Alabama counties (Cleburne, Randolph) near the Georgia border programmed with their FIPS ##, to keep abreast of dangerous storms approaching the state line.

I also utilize my two scanners to keep tabs during Tornado Watch situations...once severe storms are within 20-30 miles of Douglasville. Sometimes the first warning of a tornado touchdown or wind damage comes not from WSFO FFC...but from panicked crosstalk I hear from troopers, deputies, and firefighters warning their dispatchers of what's going on.

Perry

[blizzard]

One of the towns near where I grew up tests their siren every day at noon. But at that timw, I believe it was also used as a fire siren since the fire dep't. was volunteer. They have since went to a full time fire force and now the siren can still be heard every day at noon and of course for tornados.

the town I live in now tests theirs every month but I am not sure what day or time they do.

[streetsoldier]

We have one, but it sounds the "Nuclear Attack" signal-wail only(DUH)...those who don't live close enough to hear it are warned by passing DPS patrol cars issuing verbal instructions via speakers.

[ColdFront77]

The prison I lived about a mile from occasionally tested their siren and used it the times there was actually escapes from the medium security prison. I would assume if eastern Massachusetts was prone to tornadoes... then theywould probably use this warning device to warn of the residents (me included at the time, of course) of the danger of a tornado in the immediate area.

I mentioned that I lived "down the road" from one of the Massachusetts State Prisons in one Shannon's threads about boot camp.

I also mentioned in that post, it was were those that underwent psychiatric evaluations went from southern New England, if not for all the New England states.

[nystate]

We have 6 tornado sirens here, I'm not sure why though! The sad thing is only 3 of them work...

[mamadude]

tornado siren, heck we dont even have a snow plow,LMAO

[VAWXWatcher6]

I thank they should have Tornado Sirens everywhere that could have tornados...it could save a lot of people...

[breeze]

None here....but, thank God for NOAA weather radio! That darn thing
blasts me out of bed, in a hurry! I call all of the family, when needed!

[azskyman]

I'd like to do some research. Bet that almost every town that has been hit by a tornado since 1960 now has a local warning system.

[JetMaxx]

Annette....it's the same way with me. My stepsister and her husband live in a mobile home (almost have their new brick home ready to move into thankfully); and for the past several years, my first call when a tornado watch is issued or severe weather is approaching is to alert them.

If he's at home, I also give my dad a call (he has a WxAlert Radio at work/ he's security director for a large distribution center).

Since coming onboard the internet in 2000, I also email family members in east Tennessee when it looks unusually dangerous (as it did last November 10th). Becky and Dave are in Oregon, so tornadoes aren't a serious threat....but severe flooding and sometimes strong winds from ocean storms are; I have called or emailed her on occasion too with a "heads up" message.

[JetMaxx]

I'd like to do some research. Bet that almost every town that has been hit by a tornado since 1960 now has a local warning system.

In Douglasville's case, it wasn't a tornado here that prompted the warning sirens; but several killer tornadoes nearby in 1998 (one on March 20 took 13 lives near Lake Lanier; then more severe damage and death occurred in north metro Atlanta on April 8-9).

Downtown Douglasville was struck by a strong F2 tornado on March 29, 1991 (missed my home by 1/2 mile), but there wasn't enough money for sirens then. After the severe 1998 tornadoes, the state allocated millions for local governments to set up sirens (I believe FEMA also aided with considerable funding)....which is why Douglas County and many other counties in north Georgia have sirens tonight.

[southerngale]

No tornado sirens here and we've had tornadoes...not those humongous ones though.

This past October, an F1 hit right around the corner from my house...less than 1/2 mile from my house!! It was major for around here...our tornadoes aren't usually even that strong. I had my kids in the hall because we were in a tornado warning and I was on the front porch with the camcorder when the electricity went out so I went back inside to tend to them. It's a good thing it didn't hit my house with me outside!!

Anyway...still no tornado sirens here. Of course I've got my NOAA weather alert.

[Colin]

I always thought the Fire Station siren was the Tornado Siren... I dunno if we have Tornado Sirens. Probably not, since we are not at a high risk of getting tornadoes.

[TexasStooge]

Yes there are Tornado sirens in my area, and they sounded pretty good.

[azskyman]

How many of you actually use the alert part of your weather radio? Or do you shut the alert off so it won't wake you at night?

When those things first came out, I sold hundreds and hundreds of them back in my home county in Illinois....all because of the alert feature.

Is your alarm feature left on?

[David]

The last tornado was in 1966, F5, went over Burnett;s Mound, where one of many sirens are. I can hear it from my previous school, and home.

Tested Mondays at Noon, unless weather in the area.

[ColdFront77]

I used my alarm feature at least once [maybe two times] I remember using it one summer afternoon, several years ago in Massachusetts while watching The Weather Channel...

There were some isolated thunderstorms moving ESE toward the coast, just south of Boston (to my north, up Route 24)... I was sort of surprised by the very loud noise it made... that of course was followed by the Taunton, MA National Weather Service statement about the severe thunderstorm. I believe it was the "male synthesizer voice."