Outdoor warning sirens are a key part of public safety. There are activation guidelines that cities use, but when severe weather occurs often all bets are off.
With tornado season bearing down on North Texas and the news of several twisters tearing apart towns in the Midwest, the question has come up. When do the sirens go off? And does everyone know what they mean?
There are four basic guidelines area cities use to activate outdoor sirens: a tornado or severe thunderstorm warning with winds over 70 miles per hour, reports of a tornado from a trained storm spotter, 1.25 inch hail or other emergencies like a wildfire or chemical spill.
But each city also has unique circumstances for activating outdoor sirens. For example, Arlington will activate sirens if a thunderstorm is barreling towards one of its stadiums. Dallas could hit the button on one of its 150 plus sirens if the Trinity River begins overflowing, putting homes and lives in danger.
“If we sound the sirens, there’s a reason for it,” said Kevin Oden, a Dallas Emergency Management specialist.
Oden said the sirens are designed to tell people who are outside to get inside, and then figure out why the sirens are going off.
“There has to be judgment in there, but there also has to be discretion,” he said. “The variables part of it, there’s always a human element. And there’s always a tough decision that has to be made.”
Read more on myFOXdfw.com: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/weather/why-are-the-tornado-sirens-sounding%3F-030112
With tornado season bearing down on North Texas and the news of several twisters tearing apart towns in the Midwest, the question has come up. When do the sirens go off? And does everyone know what they mean?
There are four basic guidelines area cities use to activate outdoor sirens: a tornado or severe thunderstorm warning with winds over 70 miles per hour, reports of a tornado from a trained storm spotter, 1.25 inch hail or other emergencies like a wildfire or chemical spill.
But each city also has unique circumstances for activating outdoor sirens. For example, Arlington will activate sirens if a thunderstorm is barreling towards one of its stadiums. Dallas could hit the button on one of its 150 plus sirens if the Trinity River begins overflowing, putting homes and lives in danger.
“If we sound the sirens, there’s a reason for it,” said Kevin Oden, a Dallas Emergency Management specialist.
Oden said the sirens are designed to tell people who are outside to get inside, and then figure out why the sirens are going off.
“There has to be judgment in there, but there also has to be discretion,” he said. “The variables part of it, there’s always a human element. And there’s always a tough decision that has to be made.”
Read more on myFOXdfw.com: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/weather/why-are-the-tornado-sirens-sounding%3F-030112
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