The sirens in the Twin Cities will sound when a severe thunderstorm warning is issued by the National Weather Service and winds of 70 mph or greater are forecast or occurring in the area. The 70 mph wind speed is considered tornado strength, said McLean County Emergency Management Agency Director Curt Hawk.
The current policy calls for sirens to be activated only when a tornado has been confirmed on the ground or a tornado warning is issued by the National Weather Service.
The revised policy discussed Tuesday by the McLean County Board's justice committee. The policy is set by the communities that own the sirens, so the committee review was for information only.
A portion of the new plan was removed after Hawk expressed reservations about calling for sirens to be sounded throughout the threat of bad weather. He said Tuesday he was concerned that residents may be confused by sirens blowing every 10 to 15 minutes during a warning period.
"You're going to hear sirens more often. That's sort of a concern because the more you hear it, the more often you're going to ignore," said Hawk.
Bloomington Fire Chief Mike Kimmerling told the committee he supported removing the requirement for recurring sirens, based on Hawk's concerns.
The new policy was determined by Hawk, Kimmerling and Normal Fire Chief Mick Humer.
The issue of when a siren should be activated became a topic among the fire chiefs and EMA in November after a series of tornadoes ripped through Central Illinois, leaving behind a trail of devastation in Washington and several other communities.
The storm sirens were not activated in Bloomington-Normal because no tornado was reported, Hawk said at the time. Some residents and public officials raised questions about the decision not to activate the warning system.
The sirens would have sounded in November had the new policy been in force, said Hawk.
The city of Bloomington and town of Normal own the warning sirens in their communities and set the policy for their activation. Smaller towns in McLean County control their sirens and the policies for sounding them.
Humer told The Pantagraph on Tuesday that he and Kimmerling conducted research and looked at several cities with weather patterns that produce frequent, life-threatening storms.
Hawk reminded residents that there is no "all clear" signal. People need to monitor the weather service or local media to know when the threat has passed, he said.
The fire chiefs have plans for public information campaigns in the coming months to get the word out about the new policy changes.
(c)2014 The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.)
