TULSA, Okla. — Tornado sirens are the sound of storm season in Oklahoma. Activated by local emergency management when a warning is issued, these are often the first way residents learn of the threat. First and foremost, it is your signal to go inside if you aren’t there already to seek shelter.
If you are on the road, it’s important to pull over and ideally find a sheltering location. But don’t just stop there – tune in to channel 2 on television or a digital platform to follow the threat. It’s then we can tell you when you are in the clear.
WATCH: STORM SIRENS: What you need to know about storm sirens around Tulsa this season
What many don’t realize is that sirens are meant to alert people outdoors. This brings me to what not to do when sirens sound – first, don’t use this as your main way to receive warnings. You may be inside somewhere and unable to hear them, which is why it is so important to have other ways to get those alerts through your phone, weather radio, or television.
This is also why you don’t want to rely on them to wake you up. A weather radio or phone alert will be more reliable in stirring you up to action with nighttime severe weather. Tornado sirens will cycle, so don’t use the drop in sound as a cue to leave your shelter. and be sure to stay inside any building besides a mobile home and not drive when sirens sound. Being in a vehicle during a tornado is especially dangerous.
I sat down with Tulsa County Emergency Manager Bill Smiley about their role when a warning is issued. He says a tornado warning from the National Weather Service automatically triggers the sirens within the warning polygon. And if that somehow fails, there is redundancy to ensure the audio alert still sounds.
Smiley says they can manually sound individual sirens or the entire network if the sirens' automation fails for some reason.
The sirens are tested weekly and maintained regularly to avoid impactful malfunctions. There is constant coordination that happens between cities and counties for some level of consistency in siren use as well. In Tulsa, there are 2 weather alerts that come from our sirens.
The tornado siren is what we hear tested and used most often when either a tornado warning is in effect or a severe thunderstorm warning when winds may exceed 80 miles per hour, sounding for 4 minutes and going off for 2 before repeating for the duration of the warning. There is also a flood alert, with an alternating high-low tone used in rare cases of major flooding, such as in May of 2019.
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