Local: A warning about warning sirens: Don’t rely on them inside your home
The following was posted on Peoria.com, and I thought I would share:
OK, I’m a little concerned. This is a copy-paste from an email I sent to the city this morning:
JeepPilot writes:
I have a question regarding the tornado warning sirens. Were the sirens activated this morning for the 5:30am warning period? The reason I ask is that I did hear some very faint sirens in the distance, but not even audible inside my house. Is it possible that the sirens in my area are malfunctioning somehow, or was I just hearing sirens from a faraway town?The City responds:
Good morning and thank you for taking the time to contact us via the City of Peoria Website. It is my understanding that yes the sirens were activated this morning during the warning period. The sirens are actually intended for “outdoor” notification or warning. It is advised that occupants have a weather radio so that in the event of an emergency a warning can be heard from within the home. Further it is advised that the radio have a battery back up.
Absolutely correct. Warning sirens are designed for the benefit of those who are outside, and might not have access to radio.
You see, back in the old days, before everyone became dependent on the government to protect them from every little thing, people actually paid attention to changes in the weather. They also made adjustments in their daily routine if there was a possibility they might otherwise be caught outside without shelter.
So here’s the thing: If you are going to bed and the forecast calls for storms that night, it might be a good idea to take some personal responsibility and make sure there’s a battery-powered radio or television handy. And some flashlights. And maybe, I dunno, some food and water just in case.
And remember that when close your windows and turn on the air-conditioner, you can’t hear sirens very well anyway. Insulation also keeps out noise too.
Old fart lecture over.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
And if you’re in a windowless building sitting in a cubicle, you *really* can’t hear the sirens, so it’s incumbent on your employer to have a weather emergency plan in place to notify employees in the event of a tornado.
The one in my work goes off with regularity.
The one at my work wasn’t activated this morning for our third-shift worker who has no way of knowing if it’s even raining outside. And he was in an affected town. Sirens blaring outside, oblivious worker inside. Scary.
additional old fartness… back in the olden days people spent less time parking their wide asses on the couch or in an air conditioned office that is insulated. You were more likely to hear it cause your windows would be open or you would be outside.
My big gripe about the sirens is that they run for too short of a time and then thats it. So if you slept through it as many did but wake up while the warning is still on…. The sirens should be going off regularly during the entire warning period.
And at this moment, we have a storm cell coming in. No sirens yet.
And my supervisor tells me they have unplugged all the equipment on that side of the room as they are preparing the close the call center. All out jobs are being transfered to the Philippines, as you recall.
Yes indeed, C.J. — remember the tornado that hit Parsons Manufacturing in 2004? All that kept it from being a truly horrific disaster was the company’s constant attention to weather safety. They paid attention to ALL severe weather watches and warnings, had a NOAA weather radio, designated people to watch the skies, had clearly marked, designated tornado shelters throughout the facility AND had tornado drills twice a year. Every employer should have a plan like theirs.
Then you have an employer like mine, who has basically no rooms protected by interior walls. If a tornado comes, we’re all f**ked.
Cory,
I’m with you on that one. We have a store front office. Big glass window. The only interior area is a tiny bathroom (that we have a filing cabinet along one wall because we are so lacking in storage) that I am doubtful will house the three of us. Ugh. I just hope any tornadoes have good timing and wait til I’m home where there’s a basement to flee to.
Jennifer
Mahkno, tornado sirens run for 3 minutes at a steady pitch. How long would you have them go for? In addition, most Emergency Managers will re-activate the sirens during the warning period if it appears there is an actual tornado imminent or on the ground (as a opposed to a radar-indicated tornado warning which most warnings are).
Current warning sirens are not designed to be audible from indoors. I offer a better solution.
A typical siren today rated at 125 dB at 100 feet has a 70 dB radius of less than a mile (4500 feet). You would not expect to be able to hear this from indoors. We even have trouble hearing the 130 dB Thunderbolt atop Lourdes Hospital from my office, a mere 3200 feet away, as it has a 70 dB radius of only 1.3 miles (6900 feet). We also have trouble hearing the Thunderbolt at Concord Elementary from inside Kentucky Oaks Mall, a mere 1/2 mile away as we do from our house at almost exactly 1 mile.
The new 2001 units that they’re replacing them with are even harder to hear from indoors, as they can’t maintain output like the Thunderbolts during the downward wail (where most of the carrying power and penetration lies). There are even two of these 2001 units visible from Crestview Mall in Northern Kentucky. That shows they aren’t meant to cover very large areas.
My Ultrawhistle prototype generated 125 dB at 100 feet, but produced an SPL of 85 dB at 1 mile and 70 dB at 2.5 miles (13,200 feet) using 150 HP. This is almost twice the radius (or 4 times the coverage area) of a 5 dB louder Thunderbolt, but not as efficient in terms of square miles/HP. The tests were audible over parts of Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati including Hebron, Florence, Erlanger and Fort Mitchell, KY as well as Delhi, OH. It was also audible from inside a moving car from a distance of two miles from the test site.
Being of the same frequency and tonal spectrum as my Ultrawhistle prototype, my 10 dB louder inverted, horn loaded Dynawhistle should produce 95 dB at 1 mile and 70 dB at up to 4 miles using only 100 HP. That’s similar coverage to today’s sirens in terms of square miles/HP. There is no way you wouldn’t hear it indoors from the same distance as a current siren.
I would like for a manufacturer (hopefully from my home state of Kentucky) to build one of my Dynawhistles and test it in actual cities. I believe it would soon catch on, as unlike a siren of equal output, it would not sound unbearable to those within the first few hundred feet and would likewise be audible in areas and situations where no current siren would.
I guarantee that those who have trouble hearing the current sirens at distances of 1 mile or less would have no problem hearing it. The only ones needing weather radios would be those located outside of a 2 mile radius.
Here are links to my patents:
http://www.delphion.com/details?&pn=US04686928__ (Dynawhistle)
http://www.delphion.com/details?pn10=US04429656 (Ultrawhistle)
My research leading to these patents can be found at http://rjweisen.50megs.com
Here is a link to the video of my original Ultrawhistle prototype test at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in July, 1982:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbhxzW21ejc