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Do cities and towns in your area have tornado sirens?
The city that I live in, Alexandria, LA, doesn't have them and most towns in the area don't have them either. The only place nearby that has them which I can think of is Natchitoches which is about 50 miles to the northwest of Alexandria.
I have only heard tornado sirens once in my life, in the suburbs of Memphis.
All over here in St. Louis. When they go off, we know to seek shelter below ground.
I don't know of any in eastern Mass but apparently some of the towns in the central/western part of the state have them (higher frequency of tornadoes there).
I find it strange that some towns in parts of New York and Massachusetts have tornado sirens, while in Louisiana they are generally rare.
Strong tornadoes rarely strike around here so I guess most towns don't feel the need to install warning sirens. We get plenty of tornado warnings and some weak tornadoes, but tornadoes that cause significant damage are unusual. For whatever reason, Louisiana has been mostly spared from many of the large tornado outbreaks that have struck the south. There have been a few devastating tornadoes in LA, but nothing like what other southern states such as Mississippi and Alabama have seen over the years.
I find it strange that some towns in parts of New York and Massachusetts have tornado sirens, while in Louisiana they are generally rare.
Strong tornadoes rarely strike around here so I guess most towns don't feel the need to install warning sirens. We get plenty of tornado warnings and some weak tornadoes, but tornadoes that cause significant damage are unusual. For whatever reason, Louisiana has been mostly spared from many of the large tornado outbreaks that have struck the south. There have been a few devastating tornadoes in LA, but nothing like what other southern states such as Mississippi and Alabama have seen over the years.
Tornado sirens are definitely rare in New York and Massachusetts, too. The towns that have them installed them after particularly devastating tornado outbreaks. New York as a whole doesn't receive very many tornadoes on average, and rarely receives tornadoes greater than EF2, but the tornadoes it does receive tend to center on particular localized areas. Tornadoes rarely occur near the coasts of the ocean or Lake Ontario, nor do they occurr in the mountainous regions.
The valley systems in New York and Massachusetts have been blamed for enhancing the probabilities of tornado occurrences in those areas, as that is where the bulk of the region's F3 and F4 tornadoes have historically occurred, and that is where you'd find most of the towns with tornado sirens. The deadly Springfield EF3 tornado of 2011 occurred in the Connecticut river valley region and just this year a mile wide EF2 tornado hit the Mohawk-Hudson valley region in New York, for some recent examples.
Tornado sirens are definitely rare in New York and Massachusetts, too. The towns that have them installed them after particularly devastating tornado outbreaks. New York as a whole doesn't receive very many tornadoes on average, and rarely receives tornadoes greater than EF2, but the tornadoes it does receive tend to center on particular localized areas. Tornadoes rarely occur near the coasts of the ocean or Lake Ontario, nor do they occurr in the mountainous regions.
The valley systems in New York and Massachusetts have been blamed for enhancing the probabilities of tornado occurrences in those areas, as that is where the bulk of the region's F3 and F4 tornadoes have historically occurred, and that is where you'd find most of the towns with tornado sirens. The deadly Springfield EF3 tornado of 2011 occurred in the Connecticut river valley region and just this year a mile wide EF2 tornado hit the Mohawk-Hudson valley region in New York, for some recent examples.
Do you know if there's any place online that lists what towns/cities have them? I've heard that some of the areas around Springfield and in the Berkshires do (I've heard of them existing in Lee, Holyoke, and Amherst I think), and I actually heard them one time in/near Chicopee, but can't seem to find the info anywhere.
My hometown of LaGrange, GA has tornado sirens over by West Point lake. I lived about a mile from them and they always sounded so eerie when they went off. They were also used for civil defense warnings, so you had that rising and falling pitch that put me in mind of nuclear missiles and war. I'm only 23 and was born in 1990 at the end of the Cold War, but those sirens are still associated with that idea.
I Live in Auburn NE We have civil defense and tornado sirens that are tested weekly every Monday at 10 am. They are definetly LOUD meant for people outside so they know to take cover BUT They can be heard inside easily. We are lucky!
Odd, I was trying to make a post in quick post, but somehow it didn't go through. So last time I'll try to post this, grrr. If it doesn't go through, I'll try another time.
Anyway yes, there are a few tornado sirens in the city of Chicago. The closest one is about a half mile west of where I live. Other than during the spring when the system is tested to ensure it works, I never hear it go off. I think I recall one or 2 times when there was very severe thunderstorms that it may've(or maybe not) went off, but I'm not sure. Also, I recall once seeing a funnel cloud form, when I briefly attended Illinois State University in Normal, IL.
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