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by Vince_Condella from FOX 6 Milwaukee

Last Post 3 days, 17 hours Ago


Don't Rely on the Sirens
Apr 23, 2008 | 8:52 PM
Category: Weather
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Thursday, April 24, is the test day for Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness week.  At 1 p.m. there will be a test tornado watch issued for our area, and at 1:20 p.m. there will be a test tornado warning.  This is a great time to check out that weather radio you hopefully have in your house or office or school.

 

It is also a time that you might hear tornado sirens.  Just don't rely on them.  Don't get me wrong, the sirens are wonderful and are designed to alert people who are outdoors.  When you hear the siren then you know a tornado warning is in effect.  But you may not always hear the siren even if you are outside.  Why?  It depends on your distance to the siren and the direction of the wind.  Yes, a strong wind may carry that sound away from you if your distance to the siren is great enough.  Bottom line: don't wait to hear a siren.

 

So many times you will see news reports of people interviewed after a severe weather event.  So many times you hear them say "there was no warning", "I never heard the siren", etc.  Those reports drive meteorologists crazy.  There are virtually no severe weather events that go un-warned.  The National Weather Service does a great job of getting out the warnings in a timely manner, whether it be severe thunderstorm or tornado.

 

People say there was no warning because they have no way of hearing the warning.  They don't have a weather radio, they weren't listening to radio or TV, and they often rely on hearing the outdoor sirens when they are inside their house.

 

So in keeping with the theme of my blogs this week, here is another severe weather myth: listen for the outdoor siren so you'll know about weather warnings.  Myth!

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Member Comments Total Comments: 14
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Only1Antoine read my blog
Apr 24, 2008 | 10:56 AM

I don't want to say this out of being mean or anything, but there are a bunch of lazy people out here and sometimes they can use more extra information.

If they don't or can't get a weather radio, as always you have said it many times, they always come on the website and go to 1-Click Weather and see all the update model-trackings where precipitation is coming from and there are E-Alerts, which they can get through via E-Mail on their computer or mobile through their cell phones to be aware and alert of any news and weather at all times.

I know that Breaking News is something that is used when something bad happens no matter what type of news it is, but maybe you can use the Breaking News Call to your advantages as well (just as if you use Storm Center Mode) when heavy, severe weather comes through. Weather is also consider as news as well (at least I think so) and why not? If people can't get to their computers, they can always listen in on the radio and/or on TV. I feel bad, stormy, severe weather should be consider Breaking News, wouldn't anyone else agree?

Hey, you said don't rely on the sirens and there are just some people who still wouldn't understand that (and I'm not trying to put everyone down about that), but hey everyone can't think the way we all want to think about weather and weather radios and weather sirens. Am I Right?
MrsTracy read my blog view my photos
Apr 24, 2008 | 1:10 PM

Ok, I don't have a weather radio, but I do sleep with my windows cracked open for that very reason. Good thing for me is that I hardly sleep and I sleep way less when we are under a watch of any kind because I don't want to miss a siren. When we have a threat of severe weather, before I go to bed, I get my basement ready and that way if we have to drag the kids down there, they have a place to lay down and try to sleep and hopefully we wake up in the morning without our house crumbled on top of us.
AndrewSa888 read my blog view my photos
Apr 24, 2008 | 1:10 PM

Thanks for the info Vince. I have a weather radio that's what I use for severe weather info plus FOX 6 of course.
MishellJ read my blog view my photos
Apr 24, 2008 | 3:23 PM

Rely on Fox6 weather updates people, Go Vince Go!
aaro-nf read my blog view my photos
Apr 24, 2008 | 4:10 PM

hey vince, i heard you talking about this on the news last night. i am glad i do get the e-alerts from fox6 for when it comes to severe weather----at least it is not from WFRV out of green bay. they send you alerts every single day. what i hated about that is because they would send me multiple alerts regarding the same situation. they will bombard you with alerts via e-mail every single day. i always keep the tv on when severe weather is coming. we have charter commnuications for cable for the fond du lac service area and what is nice is if there is severe weather, the screen turns red and the voice comes on and informs us to turn to channel 16(TVGUIDE NETWORK). that is where the national weather service comes on and tells us where and when the warnings are issued. also, if you do not have a radio on, you can turn on channel 23(MPTC INFO), and on that channel, there is a radio station out of fond du lac on there you can listen to for local coverage. talking about WFDL 97.7 FM. and as always, vince, you did a great job on the posting of this blog. great job and keep up the great work and keep us informed................you're #1 here in eden.-----aaro-nf
Katbird read my blog view my photos
Apr 24, 2008 | 9:24 PM

We have a weather radio at home and it makes us feel much safer. We purchased one for the family vacation home in Rhinelander because we are deep in the woods and can't rely on TV or sirens up there.
prettyinpinks read my blog view my photos
Apr 24, 2008 | 9:39 PM

Well that explains the drill today . . . jumped about a mile out of my seat in AP US and yelped.

Oops . . . : )
Katbird read my blog view my photos
Apr 25, 2008 | 9:49 AM

Wow..what a cool storm at 3 A.M.ish this morning!!
The lightning lite up the whole house and the thunder shook the windows. Pretty intense!
Katbird read my blog view my photos
Apr 25, 2008 | 11:13 AM

Ummmm...I suppose I better turn the computer off.
It's sounding nasty out there.
Is that another myth, Vince?
Somehow...I don't think so.
See you all after the storm!!
WOW....it's really pouring!!!
barbiedoll1959 read my blog view my photos
Apr 25, 2008 | 12:31 PM

Vince, I did not hear the mock tornado sirens yesterday that Fox 6 stated would happen at 1:20pm. Did they do it... or didn't they?
If they did then I am in trouble...I don't think I have a hearing problem! lol
Katbird read my blog view my photos
Apr 25, 2008 | 1:42 PM

I heard them here , Barbie.
My doggie was going nuts.
barbiedoll1959 read my blog view my photos
Apr 25, 2008 | 5:11 PM

Kat, I work very close to the airport and we did not hear them here! Hmmmmmmmmmm
Vince_Condella read my blog view my photos
Apr 27, 2008 | 12:59 PM

Barbie,

Yes, the sirens were successfully tested at 1:20pm on Thursday. But if you didn't hear them in your home, don't worry. As I wrote in the blog, they are not designed to be heard in the home. Even outside they may be difficult to hear if you are too far away from a siren location.

Weather Radio is the only way to go. It's the only sure way for you to hear a watch or warning when it is issued.
Snowhawk read my blog view my photos
Apr 28, 2008 | 11:59 PM

Katbird,
That is NOT a myth about protecting your computer against spikes from lightening. Spikes are not always visible forms of lightening that can cause havoc on anything that is plugged into the wall socket & it doesn't necessarily have to be from a close hit to affect you. Though lightning strikes are somewhat rare and preventing the damage caused by a lightning strike is virtually impossible, power surges and spikes are fairly common and the method used to protect equipment can be fairly simple. I use, and I recommend using, surge protectors on all equipment plugged into an outlet. This includes, but is not limited to, your TV, clock radio, fridge, microwave, etc… Go down to Wally-World or Radio Shack & pick up a hand full. Their cheap protection and you can even get them in power strips.
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Vince_Condella

FOX 6 Chief Meteorologist Husband, Dog Owner, Bicyclist, Motorcyclist, Guitar Player, Yoga Devotee, student of Buddhism

Member Since: 8/24/2006


 

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