Cities removing tornado sirens in favor of texts, media and Internet warnings

[Jason Harris]

Some people will sleep like the dead. Note in this article one family wakes up at 3 AM during a false alarm, but this other fellow with the windows open does not. Having multiple tools seems reasonable. Individuals will differ, so why not err on the side of different approaches?
http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...hers-lafayette-tornado-sirens-mistakenly-went

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I'm not happy about it, nor do I like the fact that in the Bryan-College Station, TX area (where I'm living now) there are no tornado sirens anyhow. Is a text going to wake people up in the middle-of-the-night?

Say what? Tornado sirens aren't designed to wake up people in the dead of night, in fact they aren't to warn people indoors. If you're dead asleep and the sirens goes off, chances are you won't wake up anyways unless the tornado siren is literally right next to your house. There were times when the sirens were sounding and I was asleep, the only reason I woke up was because someone called me to find out what was going on. If you're a storm chaser, you should know that tornado sirens aren't designed to warn people inside or wake people up.... so your post makes no sense.

 

[Rob H]

Having multiple tools seems reasonable. Individuals will differ, so why not err on the side of different approaches?
http://www.dailycamera.com/lafayett...hers-lafayette-tornado-sirens-mistakenly-went

Because some communities don't want to spend the money on keeping them functional, people become reliant on being warned by them, and the siren policy is different for every emergency manager/city sometimes so you have human error and "boy who cried wolf" type issues.

 

[rdale]

Sirens cost a few grand every 5-10 years, and if you need to upgrade from the old style mechanical to the current electrical it's about $20-30 grand per siren. That's a big investment especially for communities where tax dollars aren't flowing...

 

[Hannah.Taylor]

im in favor of it.

but for the elderly, blind, deaf....there should be some sort OTA warning device installed in the home in lieu of the sirens.

personally i think that would work more efficiently than sirens.

 

[Mike Johnston]

No, keep the sirens. The sirens are a true alert signal and should be preserved. After all, if there is any function of government that most people think should be preserved, it it is the protection of life. Tornado sirens have been a sound investment for many decades for the cities of the midwest. A cold war relic, it was a wise adaptive re-use of assets already put in place by the federal government. (And, by the way, I still prefer the title of "civil defense director" to "emergency manager".) The localities just have to maintain them. Sure, if you want to supplement by internet communications, text message, more power to you. But, nothing can substitute for an outdoor siren - you can call it whatever you want, but it gets people's attention and that's the first and most important thing that matters.

 

[rdale]

but for the elderly, blind, deaf....there should be some sort OTA warning device installed in the home in lieu of the sirens.

NOAA WxRadios with add-ons for those needs have been available for decades...

 

[Elliott Budd]

[I think getting rid of the sirens is a very bad idea. They can generally be heard outdoors and, in some locations close to them, indoors as well. All the research says that the more sources people can get warnings from, 1) the more likely they are to receive the message through at least one source and 2) the more likely they are to take the message seriously]-i agree with john on this one. Where I live, Kokomo In. the only sirens we have are from Haynes International, but i can hear them across town an thats the purpose . To be heard outside. I listen to more sources like tv, locl radio, NWS, etc

 

[Joey Ketcham]

[I think getting rid of the sirens is a very bad idea. They can generally be heard outdoors and, in some locations close to them, indoors as well. All the research says that the more sources people can get warnings from, 1) the more likely they are to receive the message through at least one source and 2) the more likely they are to take the message seriously]-i agree with john on this one. Where I live, Kokomo In. the only sirens we have are from Haynes International, but i can hear them across town an thats the purpose . To be heard outside. I listen to more sources like tv, locl radio, NWS, etc

Please post a link to said research that you speak of. Text alerts, NOAA Weather Radio's, etc... they provide information. A siren sounding, what information are you getting from that? I guess if a siren is sounding as a result of a lightning strike, then people who hear said siren sounding will know it's because of a lightning strike as a oppose to an EF5 tornado heading right for them. The fact is, people have become use to tornado sirens sounding and nothing happening, fact is people ignore tornado sirens for the most part. They're outdated, and to me pointless. Outdoor tornado sirens were put into use during a time when you didn't have all the technology that we have today. We have radio, television, NOAA Weather Radio, text alerts, email alerts.... tornado sirens are pointless and for the most part, people ignore them and more often than not, people get confused by them.

 

[KimC]

The fact is, people have become use to tornado sirens sounding and nothing happening, fact is people ignore tornado sirens for the most part.

It is not the siren that decides to sound on its own. Someone pushes a button, and may do this with too little reason or..? Fact is that we still do not know for sure which storm systems will produce a tornado and which not. False alerts can not be avoided, no matter if they come by siren or some digital gadget. People will get ignorant on other warning methods as well. It is just important they now that a warning, no matter how it is issued, is nto a guarantee that there will be a tornado, but there may be a high risk. If nothing happened, they can choose to take it for an annoying false warning, or realize that they may have dodged a bullet.
I find digital gadgets annoying, as they too often think they know my needs better than I do. Too often I had to get access to something with short notice, but the digital gadget found an oh-so-important update that simply must be installed immediately, please wait....

The day where a city gets destroyed by a tornado,and peaople did nt get warnings because some digital system either failed completely, or was too busy with an update that was appearently more important that the life of the citizens.
Infrastructure in an area targeted by severe weather may fail, often the simplest solutions win.

I also see a problem in areas with little or partly damaged communications infrastructure, if 1000 storm chasers chase a storm and each transmit livecasts from their dasboard cams showing rain falling on the windshield, and the wipers sweeping, but mainly nothing else. That sudden and massive traffic could block lifesaving communication.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

It is not the siren that decides to sound on its own. Someone pushes a button,.

Really? You've never heard of a lightning strike causing a tornado siren to go off?

 

[KimC]

Really? You've never heard of a lightning strike causing a tornado siren to go off?

I've experienced cellphone towers quit after a lightening strike. Still, one alert too much is better than one that was needed but never came trough.
Even if lightening may have set a siren to go off, it is not the rule.

 

[Mike Johnston]

The event of lightning striking a tornado siren is a sideshow to the basic debate here. Joey, my mom lives in the same town as you, Pittsburg Kansas. Is there a probability of a tornado striking Pittsburg over the next few years? Probably not. But, given the climatology there, is there a reasonable possibility? Yes, definitely. And would I feel better if Pittsburg keeps its sirens? For sure.

 

[rdale]

Mike - have you asked your mom how much she's willing to pay in taxes for those sirens? THat's where the rub comes in

 

[Joey Ketcham]

The event of lightning striking a tornado siren is a sideshow to the basic debate here. Joey, my mom lives in the same town as you, Pittsburg Kansas. Is there a probability of a tornado striking Pittsburg over the next few years? Probably not. But, given the climatology there, is there a reasonable possibility? Yes, definitely. And would I feel better if Pittsburg keeps its sirens? For sure.

My parents, my brother and his family lives in Pittsburg. They don't pay attention to the tornado sirens, they pay attention text alerts and what the media outlets are saying. So if they did away with tornado sirens, it would have no effect on them.