Tornado sirens are critical for outdoor awareness and safety – especially in a state dubbed ‘Tornado Alley.’ Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management’s (ODEM) Public Affairs Director Keli Cain says each state location is responsible for operating sirens during weather events, plus maintenance of their individual sirens.
Richard Smith, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service (NWS), says that the NWS “provides warnings and information that are often used by local officials to make siren activation decisions.” The NWS itself does not activate weather sirens; instead, local officials typically do. There are also no national guidelines for sounding sirens.
El Reno Emergency Management Director Edward Fowler says that in his city, “in the event of a declared tornado warning from the Norman NWS for Canadian County, then we trigger our sirens. As the weather event continues, if it impacts El Reno, we keep the sirens going. We look at radar and listen to weather, and we have direct contact with the NWS. Our sirens are triggered from our police dispatch center. Some of El Reno’s sirens are backed up by batteries. We’re well-equipped.”
Three primary officials in El Reno can make the determination whether or not to continue the sirens: Fowler, the El Reno fire chief, and a member of El Reno Police Department’s administration. However, when necessary, there are others who can make those determinations, such as the city manager and the mayor.
El Reno doesn’t sound sirens for big hail or high winds, but Fowler says his team doesn’t want people going outside to see how big the hail might be, either.
“If the El Reno sirens are going off,” he says, “take cover.”
Fowler says if a tornado targets another county location, and the threat has left El Reno, then their team makes a determination on whether they will continue operating the sirens. But, he says, “we had a severe weather day, and there was no tornado in El Reno, but radar indicated circulation. In El Reno, we take severe weather seriously because we’ve had the largest tornado on record, as far as width. In 2019, a tornado went through the east side of town, hitting a mobile home park, killing two people and injuring 30.”
Sirens are tested at noon every Saturday in El Reno. But if there’s any type of severe weather situation on Saturday, the sirens are not tested. Sirens are annually inspected, and there’s also extra maintenance when needed.
“On a severe weather day, I’ve got multiple televisions going,” says Fowler. “I’m using every tool including my computer, and I don’t stop until the threat is gone. That’s my job, and our citizens deserve to be protected. Fifty years ago, central Oklahoma didn’t have the urban sprawl we now have. Now we have housing additions everywhere. We have tornadoes in areas that weren’t populated 50 years ago.”
Staying Informed
Both Smith and Cain remind the public that outdoor warning sirens are not intended to be heard inside your home, business or vehicle. For inside warnings, rely on a NOAA All Hazard Weather Radio, FEMA mobile apps, wireless emergency alerts on phone settings and local television stations.
