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Illinois Warning Sirens Undergoing Constant Cycle of Upgrades

Other than their monthly tests, sirens in central Illinois remain forgettable unless severe weather threatens the region. But, when it's time for them to work, they'd better work right.

It will eventually be a dark and stormy night.

With winds raging outside, families will huddle in basements and bathrooms, radios buzzing or iPhones alight with radar. They might hear the tornado sirens over the noise outside, or they might not.

Or it might be a cloudy afternoon. Maybe a Sunday. Maybe a good day to mow the lawn, or work in the garden. The people outside, away from their televisions and phones, will hear the sirens, and they will know to seek shelter.

Advances in technology notwithstanding, tornadoes remain a destructive and unpredictable reality in Central Illinois. That is why, on a bright and sunny day, two technicians labored in the heat to replace a tornado siren near Oak Grove School.

Some government services, such as roads and parks, are easy for people to notice. Warning sirens are not among them. Other than their monthly tests, the sirens remain forgettable unless severe weather threatens the region.

But, when it's time for them to work, they'd better work right.

That's why the city, while generally operating in tight budget times, began an effort last year to replace one siren annually, said Jerry Nihiser, traffic and parking supervisor.

“All of these sirens are getting to be at least 15, 16 years old,” he said. “If we keep waiting, we're going to have to replace five, six, seven of them at once. … We're trying to be proactive here rather than reactive.”

The most recent siren replacement cost about $23,000. It was approved by the Decatur City Council in March, and the work took place in June. Nihiser said the old siren would be donated to the city of Gifford, which experienced heavy tornado damage in November 2013.

All of the city's 21 sirens are placed in such a way as to provide overlapping coverage, said City Engineer Matt Newell, who helped design the system about 15 years ago.

While the sirens should be loud enough to be heard more than a mile away, Newell noted that residents should not expect to hear them inside. Houses constructed in recent years are typically well-insulated, not only from the elements, but also from sound.

“It is an outdoor warning sytem. Just because you can't hear it inside your house doesn't mean it is ineffective,” he said.

In addition to the city's network of sirens, there are 25 sirens throughout the county, said Sheriff's Lt. Jim Root, coordinator of the Macon County Emergency Management Agency.

His office handles the testing. On the first Tuesday of each month, shortly after 10 a.m., staff and volunteers call residents or businesses located near each siren to ask if they heard it.

When there is a problem, Root contacts the municipality or township responsible for the troublesome siren.

He also emphasized that most people should not expect to hear the warnings inside their houses, especially if wind and rain are making a racket outside.

“The outdoor warning sirens are designed for people outside, populations that are out doing activities. They are really not designed to notify people at night in their homes,” Root said.

Purchasing a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) weather radio could save valuable minutes in the event of a tornado, he said. The radios provide a reliable method of notification for people who are inside during a storm, and they are also faster than waiting to hear the warning siren.

That is because dispatchers in the city's Emergency Communication Center set off the warning sirens after the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning. Such signals are broadcast over the radios at the same time, so someone with a radio might hear the warning a few minutes before the sirens begin to sound, Root said.

The radio also broadcasts information about what towns or villages are in the path of the storm.

©2014 the Herald & Review (Decatur, Ill.)