tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16914987.post6179829320407029527..comments2023-03-12T03:56:00.991-05:00Comments on Arkansas Weather Blog: Sunday Night's Tornado and SirensUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16914987.post-3289079613292307822015-05-26T12:28:17.800-05:002015-05-26T12:28:17.800-05:00I live on Congo Ferndale just past the light at Ha...I live on Congo Ferndale just past the light at Harvest Foods and I have been told by neighbors that a tornado touched down behind Harvest on Salem Rd. and that is why our power was out for hours..anyone else know anything about this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16914987.post-75109541971225385102014-06-19T13:59:47.052-05:002014-06-19T13:59:47.052-05:00Sirens are effective in some heavily populated are...Sirens are effective in some heavily populated areas but I think technology has allowed for much more effective ways of tornado warning notification. The siren is just a noise and doesn't give specifics but the warnings on TV, electronic devices, and NOAA weather radio give info about locations, times, and direction of travel. Don't rely on a siren. Mitchell McDillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16914987.post-60115646151828092322014-06-10T19:12:19.899-05:002014-06-10T19:12:19.899-05:00Excellent post, Todd. First of all, I respect KATV...Excellent post, Todd. First of all, I respect KATV on how it handled the severe weather interruption of programming. KATV really has it down when it comes to ensuring people's lives are saved, as well as KATV also thinks and plans out the correct approach to interrupting programming. <br /><br />Also, I agree about the tornado sirens. James Spann is a huge critic of sirens and is really getting wearied on how many times agencies cry wolf with them. He highly recommends people get NOAA weather radios or better yet, smartphone apps that GPS your location and only sound the alarm when you're in the polygon (not sounding an alarm for the entire county). I personally love his little catchphrase: "In times of Severe Weather, respect the polygon!"Nathan Parkerhttp://mallardcomputer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16914987.post-62595080132844546152014-06-10T09:08:18.866-05:002014-06-10T09:08:18.866-05:00Regarding the scenario in Independence County last...Regarding the scenario in Independence County last Friday: the issue here is that, while the tornado sirens have not been operational for quite some time, the existing telephone alert system (AlertExpress) was operational and activated. It was just some 20 minutes after the tornado touched down. AlertExpress has been the only alert mechanism for most of the county for about four years, but the situation on Friday has caused some residents to question whether it (alone) is sufficient. This is somewhat clouding the issues, confounding the question of sirens vs. telephone alerts with a more fundamental problem that is always present: how to avoid false alarms while ensuring that citizens are appropriately warned about real tornadoes. There was never a tornado warning for Independence County on Friday (I think), and in the absence of such the emergency managers had to rely on observations from individuals (including emergency responders) to make a decision, and that can be challenging. These sorts of situations should be addressed in any policy making ir training actitvities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16914987.post-60663812262228103202014-06-10T08:03:12.716-05:002014-06-10T08:03:12.716-05:00Todd Just to shed some light on to how Siren syste...Todd Just to shed some light on to how Siren systems work. In SOME Counties Not all but some, I know for a fact Saline County. The sirens operate on the same network and the receiver is put in a certain location so that the antenna on the mount of Every siren head in the county can recieve it. Bc if the antenna don't recieve the radio signal that's sent to the siren. It won't sound regardless of whether a Tornado is coming or not unless there is somebody there to turn the switch manually on the siren itself. Nobody is going out in a Tornado to do that. And for some counties Especially larger counties it's easier to just hit a button and sound the entire system at once than to try to figure out many different things that they won't be able to figure out in a matter of seconds anyways. Most counties with fewer sirens do that because population is pretty scarce in certain areas of certain counties anyways. Pulaski county for example dont have a "see all sound all rule" Neither does Little Rock. LR DOEM Generally tends to sound all sirens if the City goes warned . But if there's a storm in a certain area of the city and the tornado or rotation is on the out skirts, and if the can get that info in time. They sound only the sirens in that area. But if a Hook echo is coming at 60mph. Then they're lighting up all 58 Tornado Sirens. Some entire counties work this way others don't. Hope this cleared the air alil bit. The Arkansas Weather Hawkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03021960809758015641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16914987.post-38111192267066032192014-06-10T07:20:46.589-05:002014-06-10T07:20:46.589-05:00As I've been seeing some of this dialog in the...As I've been seeing some of this dialog in the last 24 hours - the story on KATV, this blog post, and even some questioning the IndCo OEM Director why sirens weren't going off when the small tornado hit Batesville on Friday - I continue to think "sounds like it's time for the NWS-LR to have a meeting with all OEM directors from the state. Sit them down, explain all of this, give it to them in a printed handout as well, and then send them back to their counties with the suggestion of re-evaluating their policies.<br /><br />Some counties may be going it right but it's apparent that some are doing it wrong. <br /><br />For the record - according to IndCo OEM director, Independence County no longer has working tornado sirens as they (quorum court) decided a few years ago they were too costly to maintain and they switched to an alert system (phone). Apparently they let the individual VFDs have the option of taking over the maintenance of the siren(s) in their respective districts and only 3 did. He has said that he is not aware of if those sirens work now or not. The way the tornado happened last Friday here, I am not sure having sirens would've helped anyway as it was so fast and unexpected. <br /><br />Still...it seems like some dialog and education of many in the state is warranted, at least based on your post and what you describe happened in central AR. Maybe that could be encouraged by local mets talking with NWS, ADEM, etc. <br />03mscnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16914987.post-11470332188289881242014-06-09T21:45:47.197-05:002014-06-09T21:45:47.197-05:00I agree it's to the "crying wolf" po...I agree it's to the "crying wolf" point. I've only lived in AR 3 years now, but I don't have any regard for the sirens (I follow your twitter and KATV wx and I have a high res radar app w some decent knowledge on reading it). I came from MN and when a siren sounded it meant business. Get down to the basement business, tornado is impending. That's what I thought was happening the first time I heard a tornado siren here... But no... We weren't anywhere near the warned area and it was southeast of us! This has happened over and over and over again. The only time a tornado did hit the Air Force base, we were in MN on vacation! They need to lay off because I don't know anyone who trusts the sirens anymore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com