Outdoor Warning Sirens in Champaign County - 2023 Policy Change!
Hello,
Your friendly local meteorologist here with an early morning FYI!
Following the activation of the outdoor warning sirens in advance of the severe thunderstorm that brought destructive winds to parts of Champaign County last Monday, I received quite a few questions asking why the sirens were sounded when there was not a confirmed tornado. The answer is - the policy changed in 2023, and we need to do a better job of spreading that information! I shared this note over social media, but thought an email explainer would be nice as well. Please feel free to forward this information along to others in the area.
Motivated by the widespread destruction caused by the June 29, 2023 derecho event in central Illinois, many emergency management agencies decided to alter their outdoor warning sirens to sound them not only for confirmed tornadoes, but also for destructive thunderstorms with 80 MPH winds or hail over 2.5" in diameter. I think this is a wonderful change, but it's clear the policy change is not widely known or understood.
First, it's important to understand that these are *outdoor* warning sirens. They are meant to alert people who are outdoors, vulnerable and potentially unaware of the incoming storm, and to encourage those people to head indoors and seek further information. If you are indoors, the hope is your phone, TV, radio, or weather radio has alerted you. You are not meant to be able to hear the sirens indoors, though many of us can because we live near one.
Second, the sirens no longer just mean there is a tornado spotted nearby. In the case of last Monday, July 15th, the sirens were activated for a destructive severe thunderstorm that was producing wind gusts over 80 MPH. This was ultimately a great thing, as numerous trees smashed homes and vehicles in parts of Champaign-Urbana as the storm swept through. A lot of folks were safely in their basement as the storm hit - a run of the mill normal severe thunderstorm warning with no sirens would not have had the same impact.
So spread the word! The outdoor warning sirens are outdoor warning sirens - and they now mean "a dangerous, destructive storm is coming, head to shelter".