Tornado Sirens

[ET21]

In my area, it's a siren for the nuclear power plant nearby...the test used to be the first Monday of every month at 2PM, now it's semi-annual, the first Monday of June and Dec.

Similar around Oregon IL with the Byron plant nearby. I was at a school retreat at White Pines and they had it go off for the monthly test. Eeriest siren outside of Chicago's infamous alien tornado sirens

[JMoses24]

I'm pretty sure Oklahoma City tests their sirens at noon on the first Saturday of every month. Took me by surprise when I was there, especially since there had just been a round of severe thunderstorms the night before.

As I write this, it's every Saturday at high noon, no matter what month. OKC tested theirs this week...and I live no less than a half mile from one. (The neighboring city of Moore also usually tests on Saturdays at 12:00 noon, but opted not to this week.)

[DaBigE]

For any "siren geeks" out there: The Siren Archive

[Scott5114]

I'm pretty sure Oklahoma City tests their sirens at noon on the first Saturday of every month. Took me by surprise when I was there, especially since there had just been a round of severe thunderstorms the night before.

As I write this, it's every Saturday at high noon, no matter what month. OKC tested theirs this week...and I live no less than a half mile from one. (The neighboring city of Moore also usually tests on Saturdays at 12:00 noon, but opted not to this week.)

Norman also does every Saturday at noon, so long as it's clear. If it's overcast, or possible severe weather is scheduled for later in the day, the test is cancelled to avoid confusion with a true severe weather event.

[crt08]

We don't have any around where I live. Downtown I think there's a siren that is tested at noon every day. I used to hear it when I was attending a school nearby it. But as far as I know there's just that one siren.

[Buck87]

I was just briefly freaked out for a bit, but can now confirm that Social Cirlce, GA does their test on Tuesdays at noon.

VS988

[GCrites]

Who else thinks they should play "War Pigs" over the P.A. after testing the sirens?

[Beltway]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlhRIhIFJBw

[rlb2024]

We don't have them in southeast Louisiana where I live now, but when I was growing up in Memphis they were tested for five minutes every Saturday at 11:55am.  We lived half a block from one of the sirens, so we knew not to get on the phone around test time -- you couldn't hear yourself talk, much less hear whomever was on the other end of the phone.

[DaBigE]

Who else thinks they should play "War Pigs" over the P.A. after testing the sirens?

A better question might be why?

It's also not possible with most systems, as they're mechanical sirens and not speakers/speaker arrays.

[US71]

Who else thinks they should play "War Pigs" over the P.A. after testing the sirens?

A better question might be why?

I agree

[STLmapboy]

The sirens here are tested on the first Wednesday of the month at 10AM CT.

Is that in Springfield? In STL it's first Monday of the month, though we haven't had a real one in a few months (we had a rash of them when I was in kindergarten, early 2010s).

[Roadgeekteen]

No sirens ever. We barely even get tornados, I think that central Massachusetts gets some.

[23skidoo]

Michigan here. First Saturday of the month, at 1 pm. March through September.

[capt.ron]

Searcy, Arkansas has 6 Whelen Vortex R4's scattered about the city. They are tested every Wednesday at noon, weather permitting. The siren located next to the new(ish) fire station close to the hospital isn't tested audibly though (it will still sound for tornado warnings however), due to the noise. 90 seconds of steady alert and 90 seconds of high-low (meaning all clear) are used.
White County has a network of Whelen sirens and they are also tested each Wednesday at noon, using the wail signal.
Cabot, AR has a network of Federal Thunderbolt sirens. One is readily seen from the 67 freeway north of town on the southbound side of the freeway. I'm not sure of their test schedule though.

[mgk920]

Outagamie County, Wisconsin, noon every Saturday, year round.  The siren on the building behind by apartment building included.

:-)

BTW, increasingly rare nowadays, when those Federal 1000-T Thunderbolt sirens with the 4/5 impellers went off, THAT was a tornado warning!  They scared the bejeevers out of me when I was a kid, but today I realize that that was an amazing sound.

Mike

[MrManlet]

Outagamie County, Wisconsin, noon every Saturday, year round.  The siren on the building behind by apartment building included.

:-)

BTW, increasingly rare nowadays, when those Federal 1000-T Thunderbolt sirens with the 4/5 impellers went off, THAT was a tornado warning!  They scared the bejeevers out of me when I was a kid, but today I realize that that was an amazing sound.

Mike

Boone County IL replaced their last Thunderbolt 1000T about 3-4 years ago with a FS 2001-130. Winnebago County next county over has ASC T-135s, which I heard when the derecho came through just a few days back.

[bugo]

Tulsa does it every Wednesday at 12 pm, unless there is severe weather forecast for that day.

[ZLoth]

We don't have "Tornado Sirens" where I live. We have a Outdoor Warning Siren System which are set to go off during the following conditions:

• The National Weather Service issues a Richardson-area Tornado Warning or Severe Thunderstorm Warning with destructive winds at or above 70 mph.
• Trained storm spotters have reported a tornado potentially affecting the City of Richardson.
• Hail of 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size) in diameter is imminent.
• Deemed necessary by city officials (i.e., in emergencies when officials need to get citizens to move indoors for their safety).

The tests are performed Wednesdays at noon unless there is inclement weather. I have to really listen to hear the sirens during the test, and have heard them during the two tornado warnings and the one Severe Thunderstorm Warning with Destructive Winds that I've experienced since I moved here. Having said that, I still rely on both my mobile phone and nice SAME weather radio for warnings.

[freebrickproductions]

A number of places around Alabama have outdoor warning siren systems, mostly for weather though a few are part of warning systems for nuclear power plants. A few friends of mine and I have gone around mapping a bunch of sirens across the state over the past several years, and have mapped-out over 2,000 different ones so far.

Test times vary some, depending on the county, though they usually only test if there's good weather. Here in Madison County, the sirens are tested on the first Wednesday of the month at noon, weather permitting. If the test isn't able to be conducted the first Wednesday, it's delayed a week (but still at noon on the second Wednesday), also weather permitting. If, after the second Wednesday, they still haven't been able to test, the audible test for the month is cancelled and they just do silent tests polling the system.

[Bruce]

Tsunami and lahar warning sirens are becoming a more common fixture around the Northwest, especially on the coast (for tsunami warnings). Usually found at fire stations and city offices.

Here's one being tested:

[GaryV]

Our area tests sirens on the first Saturday of the month (not in winter) at 1:00. One siren location is in a park not far from where I live. Inevitably there are complaints when there is a soccer game scheduled at that time.

[GCrites]

Wonder what those folks would say about the Ice Bowl

[Big John]

Wonder what those folks would say about the Ice Bowl

I believe the nearest siren is about 1/2 mile from Lambeau Field.

[Road Hog]

This two-tone siren sound at the start of this video is the one that sends me chills.