found an article about WHEN to sound sirens

[loukycheckinin]

I know this has been discussed before, but I found an article from Montgomery, OH. The author claims that sounding sirens when a severe thunderstorm warning is issed under a tornado watch is a terrible idea. Here in Louisville, KY, they only sound when a tornado warning is issued. Have a read, and give me your input.

http://www.examiner.com/weather-in-cinc ... ado-sirens

[weasel2htm]

If I were an EMA director I would use Alert for T-Storm Waring with >70MPH winds while under a tornado watch.

If a Tornado warning was issued, then I would use fast wail, to create that "Oh $$$$" in peoples minds to make them want to take shelter.

Attack would be used only during tests and the unthinkable.

This is assuming I had plain jane nothing fancy sirens, e.g. 2001s or T-128s, If I had all electronic sirens I would probably do things different.

[carexpertandy]

But I think it's a good idea, I live in Cincinnati, and they've been using this method I believe since 1992. But it used to be from 1986 until 1992, they were sounded for all Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, whether a Tornado Watch was issued or not, but when they were this way, many people just thought "It was just a thunderstorm."

I would say sounding the sirens for a Severe Thunderstorm Warning with a Tornado Watch is a good idea, because many people I know think Tornado when they hear the sirens and it isn't test day, and it will give people a chance to take shelter in case a tornado then touches down later, because it seems that sometimes, even when a tornado touches down, a Tornado Warning doesn't get issued, I hear that this happened in Lansing, Michigan within the past year, and they didn't sound the sirens, because a Tornado Warning wasn't issued. I'm not sure if they had a Severe Thunderstorm Warning and/or Tornado Watch, but using the sirens this way would be a good idea.

[r4tbolts]

I am in the shcool that sirens mean shelter and turn to local media for instructions. The "exclusive tornado warning" vs 70+ winds is kind of slpitting hairs IMO. Both can do great damage, cause injury and fatalities especially when you have drecho winds blowing at 90 to a 100 mph.

Secondly sirens can and should be used for haz-mat leaks on rail or road near populated areas. An example would be a chorine tanker leak caused by derailment or accident in a populated area. Not to mention chemical opperations that go on in almost any industrial city.

My two cents, a good communty EM program can educate the local public what the sirens mean and action to take. If kept simple such as shelter and tune to local media for instructions would stop all the confusion and post storm arguments if it was a tornado or not. Obviously sirens should be only used when necessary. As we all know siren activation has always been a catch 22 for whom has to decide.

[Jpressman8]

Alert for storm warnings Attack for tornado warnings. There needs to be a differential between the 2. The June 15th 2010 storm here in Cincy was not a tornado warned storm there was also no tornado watch issued. The storm intensified as it crossed into Hamilton County dropping 6 areas of rotation and 2 possible touchdowns via spotters/law enforcement officials. The sirens were then activated, but the storm, wind and intense thunder and lightning essentially drowned out the sirens. The Idea is to sound the sirens before the storm reaches county limits. After the sirens are activated it is up to the individual to investigate the situation. Holding back on activation in a storm situation regardless of the severity leaves EMA or county open to possible lawsuits and problems if someone were to get hurt. We see it all the time. "Well I never heard the sirens" "Why did'nt they go off" etc. etc. What i'm saying is it the county, town or cities duty to alert the people after that the jobs been done. You can't hold everyones hand. If people want to "treat it like "oh no big deal" "it just a spring thunderstorm". So be it. Just one mans opinion.
As I said earlier there needs to be a differential between the different warnings.
An interesting note the storm I mentioned is the storm that brought down touchdown Jesus ( 1 million dollar Jesus statue) in Monroe/Middletown north of Cincinnati.

[Busgeek71]

I would use steady for tornado warnings, wail as a flood or other disaster signal, and fast wail for straight line winds >74mph (Cat. 1 hurricane). I would sound for a tornado if it is anywhere within the county.

[t-bolt82]

I would use steady for tornado warnings, wail as a flood or other disaster signal, and fast wail for straight line winds >74mph (Cat. 1 hurricane). I would sound for a tornado if it is anywhere within the county.

Well, I belive it already is the law that the warnings are by county and not city - am I right? I mean, last year, when we had a tornado warning when I was in my [now] city of Warren, there were no actual tornadoes there, but they were in Macomb County, so the siren down the street went off. So, I've always thought that sirens go off county-wide if the warning is in that county - regardless if it's in that city or not.

I also agree wtih Jpressman - you cannot hold everyone's hand. If people choose to ignore the sirens and stay outside, upstairs, etc - thats their problem. It's just like people who choose to go into a storm with a camera and take pics, or film it - if they get killed, it's their own fault. Dont wait until it's too late - get the warnings out ASAP.

[Westgate Thunderbolt]

This topic irks me to no end for some reason.

When did the waters get so muddied, so to speak? Back in the Civil Defense days a steady siren or horn blast meant be "alert" to possible disaster while a wailing siren or a set of consecutive short horn blasts meant the crap was hitting the fan. Everybody knew what was happening just by the warning signals that were sounded do to education and a set of standards.

What would happen if every state, county and city used there own traffic signal colors, signage and lane markings? Confusion! That is why the federal government sets up a standard for across the country. Why should outdoor warning systems be any different? Where I live the fire department sounds the "Attack" signal to call in their volunteer fire fighters. Does that mean there are bombs falling from the sky? No, but it may to some people that don't know any different. The feds need to set up a standard set of outdoor siren signals for the country and every county, town and city needs to stick to them.

And in the words of Forest Gump, "That's all I got to say about that."

Justin

[carexpertandy]

Well, I belive it already is the law that the warnings are by county and not city - am I right? I mean, last year, when we had a tornado warning when I was in my [now] city of Warren, there were no actual tornadoes there, but they were in Macomb County, so the siren down the street went off. So, I've always thought that sirens go off county-wide if the warning is in that county - regardless if it's in that city or not.

Warnings are issued by the National Weather Service. Siren activation, it depends. In some places, each city/town/village/etc. is responsible for activating their sirens, and in other places, the county will activate sirens countywide. Depending on what system you have, sirens can be activated system wide, or certain sirens can be selected. Hamilton County, Ohio used to activate their sirens countywide, even if any parts of the county didn't need to be alarmed, but now, they have a new system where they can select which sirens to activate, so this way, not everybody in the county needs to be alarmed if they don't need to be.

[AQHort]

I think it is a good idea to sound sirens for tornadoes as well as thunderstorms with excessively high winds. However, I fell that using the same signal for both isn't a good idea. Here in Oakland County, the sirens are sounded for both Tornado Warnings and Severe Thunderstorms with winds in excess of 70mph; bith use Alert signal. I would reccomend using th Attack (or Fast Wail) signal for Tornado Warnings and Alert for Severe thunderstorm warnings, with a 1 min alert and 2 min attack for tests (electro mechanical sirens). For electronic sirens I would use Either Attack or Alert for Tornado Warnings and Hi-Lo or Alternate Wail for Severe T-Storms with 70+mph winds.