I just went to okc.gov to look up an agenda and found a survey on their home page about our outdoor warning sirens.

Here is a link to it. https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dFNEYmdCTHdveTdycjhPaFczQVdvTkE6MQ#gid=0

There are several questions as to whether the sirens should be sounded in the event of large hail and wildfires and also whether they should be sounded over the entire city, county, or just the quadrant that the event is about to take place in.

It is my personal opinion that we have such crazy weather here that they should be sounded when we have something exceptionally threatening such as the hail storm. I know several people would have tried to move their cars to shelter or have gotten indoors if they had any idea what was about to happen to them.

I also think that in a city as large as ours, we should only sound them in the quadrant affected. In that way, people will not ignore them as much as every time we have an event, they turn all of them on.

Finally, I thought that the sirens should have gone off when 9/11 was happening. I was in Dallas at the time and would not have proceeded going downtown simply to run into the "mass exodus."

We paid a huge amount of money as tax payers for these things to be operated only for tornadoes. They prompt people to go turn on the radio, television, or call someone to find out what is going on. We should use them as that prompting device judiciously. But I feel that there have been many missed opportunities that might have protected people and their belongings better.

Double post-boo :(

One thing that isn't really mentioned is they should only be sounded when a "warning" is issued or the event is actually happening and you are in the path of danger (as opposed to a "watch"). Speaking of which when did watch & warnings change? A watch used to mean that "conditions were favorable" a warning meant that a tornado was happening (either radar, or storm spotter etc). Now they are issuing Tornado warnings when one hasn't formed yet. Seems that leads to the boy who cried wolf stuff.

I think the siren should be moved to the form of a text message or phone alert with actual info.

While I agree texting and even social media are good - and valuable - ways of communicating weather events (just look at the number of #okstorms #okice #okhail tweets you've seen), many citizens are still without these kinds of communication, moreso than you know. Also, even with a text alert-type system, that would NOT guarantee I would wake up at the sound of my phone going off. I've been woken up by the sirens during a mid-night storm and was damn thankful for it.

A combination of warning systems would be the best way to handle things. Sirens for the general community (take your pick on the survey how you see that scenario playing out), with supplemental detailed text or phone informatio for those who sign up for system.

What I may see viable is a separate warning sound for tornado vs. hail or other significant threats. Not sure what the feasibility of that is, however.

I wish they'd narrow down the geographic area they sound sirens for. Since NWS warnings are no longer for an entire county, but for smaller areas - there is no need to hear sirens sound completely across town if they are not in (or cover) the warned area. As far as sounding sirens for anything other than a tornado warning, it should have to be *very* bad if they are sounded - baseball hail, 100+ mph winds, etc...

I think the siren should be moved to the form of a text message or phone alert with actual info.

That doesn't work. The text message "warnings" used by universities, for example, only reach about a third of intended recipients. The distribution of the messages is entirely dependent on the providers' networks. Major fail.

I think the siren should be moved to the form of a text message or phone alert with actual info.


That doesn't work. The text message "warnings" used by universities, for example, only reach about a third of intended recipients. The distribution of the messages is entirely dependent on the providers' networks. Major fail.
Along with the fact that the majority of the population is still not as "text savvy" as some and there are still many older folks who do not have cell phones. I figure the "texting age" is still mid-30's and younger, most people my age (46) that I know are still not using SMS/MMS features that much. I know my wife and I don't use it much (between us maybe 100 messages a month) and most people we know don't either. The majority of the messages we do send/receive are to/from my wife's nieces/nephews who are late teens/early 20's. Older people just call someone.

I agree the text and phone alert wouldn't work. My 86 year old mother would not have a clue about that and people in her age range are those most in need of getting warnings because of the time it would take them to take precautions.

I agree the text and phone alert wouldn't work. My 86 year old mother would not have a clue about that and people in her age range are those most in need of getting warnings because of the time it would take them to take precautions.

They don't work on the young, either. In the Va Tech shooting rampage, barely more than a quarter of the students received the text warnings. Any public safety official suggesting text and phone alerts as a warning solution isn't up to the job.

...What I may see viable is a separate warning sound for tornado vs. hail or other significant threats. Not sure what the feasibility of that is, however.

I agree if your point is having a different "ringtone" if you will for each category is at best confusing. Think the best option w/sirens is to have one sound meaning something of a emergency and/or life threatening event is happening. And what that means is get to a radio or tv, and find out what that it is. Don't have access to a tv or radio then call/text whatever someone who does.

Sort of like the Emergency Broadcast System. It was originally designed in 1963 and its purpose:

The Emergency Broadcast System was established to provide the President of the United States with an expeditious method of communicating with the American public in the event of war, threat of war, or grave national crisis.
It has evolved and is much more encompassing in its scope. Essentially it means the same thing as the sirens..get to a tv/radio and find the heck out what is going on.

It is my personal opinion that we have such crazy weather here that they should be sounded when we have something exceptionally threatening such as the hail storm. I know several people would have tried to move their cars to shelter or have gotten indoors if they had any idea what was about to happen to them.

Only if a siren being blown for hail was a different pattern. How many people do you currently know that jump outside during sirens to rescue their car? If the siren sounded the same for hail as it did for a tornado, those people you know wouldn't run outside to save their car, they'd go inside to protect themselves.

News Channel 4 did an excellent job of covering that hail storm in June. I was able to call my stepmom and find out that she had left her car at home outside of her garage where I was going to put mine cause she was out of town because where I live I don't have covered parking. I went over to her condo, put her car in the garage and put my car under a car port. Then I sat and chilled and watched the storm coverage. They showed that NW to SE hail core and where it was going to impact. I had 45 minutes to brace for it. I don't need 45 minutes of sirens. Sorry. Plus, this is Oklahoma. If you see any kind of cloud other than a little puffy cloud in the sky, then you should be aware of the weather in your area. That guy that was running at Lake Hefner, he deserved it.

As for all the questions, I put that they need to blow the sirens in that quadrant only. That's why people walk outside when the sirens go off--to look for the non existent tornado that's suppose to be approaching them but happens to be on the other side of the county 16 miles away! People won't go outside anymore if they know that the sirens are on because of an eminent threat for loss of life.

I think the newer siren system is designed for more localized signaling than the older system used in the past.

I think the newer siren system is designed for more localized signaling than the older system used in the past.

That is correct. Each siren can independently be controlled and has a myriad of tones that can be used.

Not exactlly. Only SOME of the sirens have the capability to give different warnings. The Omnidirectional systems can give different alters. However, MOST of the sirens in OKC are unidirectional rotaters. There was a post about this in the spring where we pointed it out. You can also see the distribution map online for each type.

Stupid thing it, the system could have been zonal from day 1, and the city's retard self is what has kept it from being completed that way. The proposal from the vendor included that ability, 10 years later we're still complaining about a tornado in Peidmont setting it off in Norman.

Now, if you're outside and you hear a siren, are you going to recognize that it's a different sound or are you going to think it's a tornado? After 50 years of hearing something and then associating that with 1 thing, good luck getting the public trained on a new system. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's going to take education from school-age kids up to the elderly in a massive campaign.

We are all in trouble if a tornado happens at Noon on a Saturday!

If there is bad weather on saturdays, they don't run the test...

LOL...I know that and odds seem fairly low that any tornado would happen exactly on a specific day of the week at exactly a certain time, but the question remains how do they warn people IF there is a tornado at Noon on a Saturday? They warn them by not warning them? Unlike the Emergency Broadcast System (or whatever name it is going by now) there isn't anything to tell you "This is a test, this is only a test..." or in the opposite, "this is NOT a test, but the real thing". Having storm clouds isn't an unusual event Can see the evening news now..."we didn't know a tornado was coming...the sirens didn't go off"

I was serious....on Saturdays, if there is any bad weather, they don't run the test. So if you hear a siren on a Saturday...even at noon...while there is severe weather around, it's because there is a tornado.

You know, one good thing might be to utilize that talking feature of the omnidirectional systems and say "this is not a test" in those situations.

Absolutely, if they have that talking feature, by all means they should use it. Can just see most when they here a siren near noon on Saturdays (no matter what the weather is like) they shrug it off is all.

all good, but why oh why must the practice siren on saturdays run for 3 minutes? It works people, you know that in about 20 seconds.