I heard from multiple people that the weather coverage in OKC is starting to go downhill, especially since Gary England left. I'm no longer in OKC so I can't tell either way. But if this is the case, I can see the NWS possibly sensing an opening. Don't know where I saw it but the Norman NWS office is the most engaged (with respect to social media) than any other office. I think B-ham wasn't too far behind as well.

You also have to think that in this time of budget austerity, most federal agencies are constantly in CYA mode and going above and beyond to prove they are worthy of continued funding. Considering that certain lawmakers have (unwisely) proposed eliminating and/or privatizing the NWS, I have to think some higher ups see that as a call to go above and beyond to show their worth to the public.

I'm going to offer a left-field response to this idea as it pertains to NWS coverage. I think both NWS, general emergency response, and local TV mets had a serious soul-searching event after the Moore tornadoes. I think some "notorious mistakes" (to be polite) by some media members led a well-intentioned charge by NWS to increase their online presence and try, as best they could, to coordinate and redirect emergency severe weather coverage. Unfortunately, they also realized they have (understandably) no means to enforce any standardization or protocols, and the net effect was that if any one outlet thought of a "really good idea" about severe weather coverage, EVERYONE had one, and EVERYONE implemented their own flavor of it. Now we have a Tower Of Meteorological Babel spewing out multicolored, mulitgraphed maps like an epileptic color laser printer and mass-broadcasting them via Tweets, posts, pins, instagrams, vines, you name it. And the result is what we have now.

Trouble is, I don't know if you can fix it. Local news organizations are under tremendous pressure to remain relevant and cost-effective, and to that end that end they have to differentiate themselves from all the other orgs in the same area. And hence comes different colored maps, regions, terms, all because Super News Crew 26 has the Certified Bestest and Most SuperDuperest Weather Team Ever. The proliferation of ever more granular, overlapping, and confusing information gets ever worse, not better.

Like I said, I don't know how you fix it. Or even if it can be fixed. Perhaps the mantra of "educate, educate, and educate" some more will, someday, help naturally separate the wheat from the chaff.

I’m not sure if this is the best place for this but some of you might enjoy this tonight.

Scheduled for Apr 29, 2015
Gary England joins us to talk all about his career as a meteorologist in tornado alley. Gary is a legend in the meteorology community and we get to spend an hour with him just talking weather and listening to stories of some of the strongest tornadoes in history. Join us live April 29 at 8pm eastern as we sit down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xpYoLcbqk8

Kevin Josefy on KFOR has provided some "interesting" commentary tonight.:rolleyes:

I heard a few mentions of his erratic behavior but haven't heard any details. Anyone know what all he said?

I heard a few mentions of his erratic behavior but haven't heard any details. Anyone know what all he said?

Strange voice inflections, high stress level, unusual use of words or not being able to articulate what he was seeing. That type thing. Hey, it was sorta entertaining I guess. :)

Mark Dillard being in the Norman twister is getting lots of play on KFOR.

BREAKING NEWS - Tyga, the hip hop artist is on the loose!!!! We are officially in a state of Jumanji!

I’m very pleased to hear that meteorologist Michael Armstrong will be back on air. I believe he does a very good job. KOCO TV 5 OKC has hired him.

It’s now IMHO the strongest WX team CH 5 has ever had.

Strange voice inflections, high stress level, unusual use of words or not being able to articulate what he was seeing. That type thing. Hey, it was sorta entertaining I guess. :)

Mark Dillard being in the Norman twister is getting lots of play on KFOR.

Wx version of Smoking Gun's World's Funniest.

I’m very pleased to hear that meteorologist Michael Armstrong will be back on air. I believe he does a very good job. KOCO TV 5 OKC has hired him.

It’s now IMHO the strongest WX team CH 5 has ever had.

It looks like I am switching from channel 9 to 5. I have said it before and I will say it again, I like Mike. He is a good guy and I worked with him when he was still at OU and waiting tables at Belinis.

Dumb question here but does KOCO use a helicopter like KFOR and KWTV or do they use the chasers on the ground only?

Dumb question here but does KOCO use a helicopter like KFOR and KWTV or do they use the chasers on the ground only?

Yep, Sky 5. Although KOCO is my favorite weather team to watch, I tend to stick with KWTV for any helicopter shots. Can't beat Jim.

Yep, Sky 5. Although KOCO is my favorite weather team to watch, I tend to stick with KWTV for any helicopter shots. Can't beat Jim.

OK, seems like i rarely see them focus on that and KWTV and KFOR seem to really use that but I may have just missed it. I was sure they did but couldnt recall it. Thanks.

I like the KOCO meteorologists but the technology that 9 has is superior (my opinion).

I'm guessing more policy issues/discussions are to come up after tornado sirens in OK county apparently blew in response to the Purcell tornado warning at about 4pm today.

Kids in some Moore schools were actually sheltering in place as a result of the sirens going off - for a storm that was 30-plus miles away and moving away. Someone on Twitter asked CityofOKC to explain their rationale, and their reply was that policy dictated they blow sirens in ALL of OK County for a TW in Cleveland County.

I'm sorry, but I have to think that some reasonable, intelligent people could come with a better rule of thumb than this. If you keep blowing the sirens on a chronically needless basis, people will stop listening to them. And there's no point in terrifying elementary school kids in a city already devastated by tornadoes for a storm that poses *absolutely no threat* to them. We can't keep hiding behind "that's our policy" to excuse....ahem...suboptimal....performance.

I'm guessing more policy issues/discussions are to come up after tornado sirens in OK county apparently blew in response to the Purcell tornado warning at about 4pm today.

Kids in some Moore schools were actually sheltering in place as a result of the sirens going off - for a storm that was 30-plus miles away and moving away. Someone on Twitter asked CityofOKC to explain their rationale, and their reply was that policy dictated they blow sirens in ALL of OK County for a TW in Cleveland County.

I'm sorry, but I have to think that some reasonable, intelligent people could come with a better rule of thumb than this. If you keep blowing the sirens on a chronically needless basis, people will stop listening to them. And there's no point in terrifying elementary school kids in a city already devastated by tornadoes for a storm that poses *absolutely no threat* to them. We can't keep hiding behind "that's our policy" to excuse....ahem...suboptimal....performance.

I'm in Oklahoma County and in Oklahoma City and sirens did not blow in my area at any time today. I'm not sure I understand what you said. Are you saying that the city of Oklahoma City can dictate that the sirens go off in all of Oklahoma County, even in areas not in Oklahoma City?

I'm in Oklahoma County and in Oklahoma City aknd sirens did not blow in my area at any time today. I'm not sure I understand what you said. Are you saying that the city of Oklahoma City can dictate that the sirens go off in all of Oklahoma County, even in areas not in Oklahoma City?

Oklahoma City activates their sirens in whichever county that they are in that is under a tornado warning.

Parts of Oklahoma City are in Oklahoma, Canadian, and Cleveland counties, if not any additional counties.

http://www.okc.gov/tornado/

Conceivably, there could be a tornado in far NE Oklahoma County traveling to the NE, and OKC will sound all of their sirens that they have within Oklahoma County, even in far SW Oklahoma County.

Oklahoma City activates their sirens in whichever county that they are in that is under a tornado warning.

Parts of Oklahoma City are in Oklahoma, Canadian, and Cleveland counties, if not any additional counties.

http://www.okc.gov/tornado/

Conceivably, there could be a tornado in far NE Oklahoma County traveling to the NE, and OKC will sound all of their sirens that they have within Oklahoma County, even in far SW Oklahoma County.

I understand all of that but that's not what SoonerDave said. He said OKC stated that they sound sirens in all of Oklahoma County.


Someone on Twitter asked CityofOKC to explain their rationale, and their reply was that policy dictated they blow sirens in ALL of OK County for a TW in Cleveland County.

I understand all of that but that's not what SoonerDave said. He said OKC stated that they sound sirens in all of Oklahoma County.

Oops, my bad. He mentioned Moore schools.

I assume OKC sounded their sirens that they have in Cleveland County. I also assume that he was referring to some Moore schools in both Oklahoma City and Cleveland County.

Btw, I don't like the policy either. Too much calling "wolf".

Oops, my bad. He mentioned Moore schools.

I assume OKC sounded their sirens that they have in Cleveland County. I also assume that he was referring to some Moore schools in both Oklahoma City and Cleveland County.

Btw, I don't like the policy either. Too much calling "wolf".

Perhaps you missed this post I made in the general weather thread. I think it is a very sound policy and I have no problem with it.


For those who don't like the local policy about sounding sirens in Okla. City.

http://www.okc.gov/news/2015_05/Torn...an_in_OKC.html

“Think about a busy parent hearing sirens at their office in north Oklahoma City where the weather seems fine, but their teenager is home alone on the south side and might be in danger,” said Emergency Manager Frank Barnes. “Our policy is to sound sirens everywhere in the City, no matter where the tornado threat is, so people know to seek more information about the weather and decide what protective measures they need to take.”

Conceivably, there could be a tornado in far NE Oklahoma County traveling to the NE, and OKC will sound all of their sirens that they have within Oklahoma County, even in far SW Oklahoma County.Not just "conceivably" the case. Last week, the sirens in my area -- 3/4 mile from the Canadian county line and barely within the Putnam City school district -- sounded not once, not twice, but at least four times during the course of a single afternoon. The warnings were for storms moving east out of Midwest City into Pott county!

I no longer pay much attention to the sirens, other than to check my TV, tablet, or phone to see a radar display and find out where the storms really are. They've cried wolf far too often for me to take them seriously any more.

EDIT: What could Barnes' hypothetical executive far removed from the scene do to help the teen stranded at home in the danger area? Leave work and rush home to add to the traffic jam? I have all sorts of problems with Barnes' position; sorry, ljbab!

The City of Oklahoma City has 181 outdoor warning sirens and the policy is to sound all of them or none.

Oklahoma City has a state of the art, computer controlled, electronic outdoor warning siren system. Software is available from several sources including the siren vendor, Whelen Engineering, to automatically identify the tornado warning polygon issued by the National Weather Service and to select those sirens within and immediately adjacent to the polygon for activation.

I disagree with the systemwide activation policy as I believe it causes unnecessary alarm and confusion as well as increasing complacency among the publics including those, like myself, who are in range of the system but not a resident of OKC.

Keep in mind, just because you hear sirens, doesn't mean they are for you. They are usually high enough off the ground to easily travel long distances. Just think of the sirens as the spark to make you check on what's going on.

Perhaps you missed this post I made in the general weather thread. I think it is a very sound policy and I have no problem with it.

You might think differently if you were an elementary school teacher trying to calm the nerves of a classroom or school of needlessly terrified children.

I understand the need to provide ample warnings. But we have a responsibility to mitigate the "collateral damage" as well. That's the problem. Didn't say it was easy.

As far as my original post goes, the Twitter exchange I saw was from @CityOfOKC.

“Think about a busy parent hearing sirens at their office in north Oklahoma City where the weather seems fine, but their teenager is home alone on the south side and might be in danger,” said Emergency Manager Frank Barnes. “Our policy is to sound sirens everywhere in the City, no matter where the tornado threat is, so people know to seek more information about the weather and decide what protective measures they need to take.”


Mr. Barnes position is broadly unsupportable. For Heaven's sake, you could extrapolate that rationale to blowing the sirens in Tulsa for a storm in Minco because a mom attending a day-meeting in Broken Arrow might be worried about a storm in Tuttle that might threaten their kiddo in Blanchard.

You cannot create infinitely perfect warnings, and this "scorched earth" policy of blasting the sirens everywhere *has* to be revisited. It *cannot* continue in its present form.

We constantly hear that the sirens are for "people who are outdoors," yet we hear rationale like that of Mr. Barnes which clearly runs counter to this. We have too many interpretations about what the sirens are supposed to do versus how people act when they sound off. Again, I don't believe there is a defense for blowing sirens in OKC for a storm a) 30-plus miles away and b) Moving away. And I surely don't believe there is a defense for a policy that - as I noted - pointlessly terrifies children (and educators, for that matter) in a public school setting on the basis of a rationale provided by Mr. Barnes. Public schools necessarily have to react to a worst-case scenario - they've got to assume an F5 is on the way and likely won't have the luxury of turning on the local TV to find out the sirens are irrelevant. That highlights the "impedance mismatch" between siren expectations and reactions.

The sirens are either intended for people outdoors, or their intended to get EVERYONE to do something. You just can't have it both ways.

My apologies if I seem harsh or black-and-white on thisk, or if my opinions offend those involved in the warning process. I don't like to be this way. But when my wife comes home telling me how she had to try and calm a room full of kindergarteners who were put into shelter-in-place mode for a storm that posed absolutely no threat whatsoever is symptomatic of a system that is broken. I won't pretend the solution is simple, but rationalizing the current system surely isn't among them.

Well we will just have to totally disagree then. I have never heard anything official about the sirens just being for people outdoors and I would always opt for the better safe than sorry when it comes to our children.

Well we will just have to totally disagree then. I have never heard anything official about the sirens just being for people outdoors and I would always opt for the better safe than sorry when it comes to our children.

In this case, safety of children was not even remotely at issue. Not one single child in the OKC area was at the slightest risk from that storm. That's the problem.

We really don't disagree about warnings per se, ljbab. I want our children protected, too.

Doesn't really matter since its not like it happens every day or every year. This is all just about liability issues. The city doesn't have its own team of weather forecasters so it relies on the Federal government( NWS) to issue the warnings and they do it by a county by county basis. Its a slippery slope once city officials start deciding which areas of the city to not include when sounding tornado sirens.

Doesn't really matter since its not like it happens every day or every year. This is all just about liability issues. The city doesn't have its own team of weather forecasters so it relies on the Federal government( NWS) to issue the warnings and they do it by a county by county basis. Its a slippery slope once city officials start deciding which areas of the city to not include when sounding tornado sirens.

Now I will respectfully take issue with that. This issue of inappropriate or unneeded siren warnings DOES, in fact, occur every year and has already occurred this year. IMHO, the "liability" notion is a cop-out. They are, in fact, deciding where to warn when they decide to launch ALL the sirens at once, indiscriminately. Also, a city such as OKC has an emergency management team, and it doesn't take a team of PhD meteorologists to see that a storm is a) distant from a city and b) moving away from that city to decide "that storm poses *zero* risk," and as such the sirens aren't warranted.

As Jim Kyle pointed out earlier in the thread, we are already at the point where abuse of sirens is causing people to start ignoring them. I know of folks who are already telling stories like "Oh, I live in XXX, so when they blow the sirens, I ignore them because I know it's really for YYY." That's precisely what we don't want to achieve, and is precisely why this policy has to be revisited. We have to use the information at hand as intelligently as possible, and right now, we're not doing that.

Doesn't really matter since its not like it happens every day or every year. This is all just about liability issues. The city doesn't have its own team of weather forecasters so it relies on the Federal government( NWS) to issue the warnings and they do it by a county by county basis. Its a slippery slope once city officials start deciding which areas of the city to not include when sounding tornado sirens.

This isn't true and hasn't been for years. The NWS now issues polygon warnings, which can affect all, part, or none of a county. Here is an example from yesterday down in southwest Oklahoma:

https://scontent-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/11203002_937383832949211_1092087520741825444_n.png ?oh=cb0363566334b79b0f4cc75813c087a9&oe=55FF4F56

As Jim Kyle pointed out earlier in the thread, we are already at the point where abuse of sirens is causing people to start ignoring them. I know of folks who are already telling stories like "Oh, I live in XXX, so when they blow the sirens, I ignore them because I know it's really for YYY." That's precisely what we don't want to achieve, and is precisely why this policy has to be revisited. We have to use the information at hand as intelligently as possible, and right now, we're not doing that.

That's because he said he is already on his tablet or phone. Your saying the average person in Oklahoma being isn't going to be curious to what's going on when sirens are going off in the middle of the day in Spring?

This isn't true and hasn't been for years. The NWS now issues polygon warnings, which can affect all, part, or none of a county. Here is an example from yesterday down in southwest Oklahoma:



Perfect demonstration of having the proper information in hand. Loco, would you happen to have a snip from any one of those tor warns from Purcell around 3pm yesterday? I'd like to see the polygon for it if you happen to be able to find it.

This isn't true and hasn't been for years. The NWS now issues polygon warnings, which can affect all, part, or none of a county. Here is an example from yesterday down in southwest Oklahoma:

https://scontent-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/11203002_937383832949211_1092087520741825444_n.png ?oh=cb0363566334b79b0f4cc75813c087a9&oe=55FF4F56

I know about polygon warnings, but the weather radio would still go off for everyone in that county. the specific coordinates would be difficult to convey over a radio or text based system.

That's because he said he is already on his tablet or phone. Your saying the average person in Oklahoma being isn't going to be curious to what's going on when sirens are going off in the middle of the day in Spring?

Which is precisely why the sirens must be fired more intelligently. We are adapting a 1950's-era technological concept used originally as civil defense warning sirens for nuclear attack, and that model doesn't reconcile very well with the much finer-grained information we have available now.

Perfect demonstration of having the proper information in hand. Loco, would you happen to have a snip from any one of those tor warns from Purcell around 3pm yesterday? I'd like to see the polygon for it if you happen to be able to find it.

Here ya go -- the two tornado warnings issued for that storm.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CFZLx2IUsAEzc8u.png

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CFZZhTJUUAE6ZPL.png

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CFZaQgRVEAAKCIA.png

Edited to add: Forgot one, as woodyrr pointed out.


I know about polygon warnings, but the weather radio would still go off for everyone in that county. the specific coordinates would be difficult to convey over a radio or text based system.

This is true. I'm not sure of the actual protocol for how people know when to issue warnings. But I was in Norman at the time and heard no sirens despite us being even closer to the Tornado Warning, so there's clearly a way to not sound the sirens unilaterally if any part of the county is in the warning. It is hard without the actual city boundaries but I'm pretty sure not even the far SE reaches of OKC were ever in a Tornado Warning yesterday as they only reach NW of Pink. If it did, it was by a couple feet of the SE OKC reaches.

This is not the first tornado warning issued for the Purcell cell, but it is the first warning that might have clipped a tiny sliver of Oklahoma City.

At the very least, Oklahoma City's siren policy could be modified to restrict siren activation to the county for which a tornado warning is issued. At least siren activations would be synchronized with NOAA weather radio which schools should already have.

http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10825&stc=1

LocoAko beat me to the warning post and I cannot effectively edit mine.

See a my post above about software available for OKC's siren system that would limit siren activation to TOR polygons.

LocoAko beat me to the warning post and I cannot effectively edit mine.

See a my post above about software available for OKC's siren system that would limit siren activation to TOR polygons.

That's awesome information. Thanks guys. I think what we have here is the framework to improve this kind of warning for everyone involved. This is precisely the kind of smarts we need to attack this kind of problem!!!

Here is just one versatile system including polygon based activation that is specifically designed to compliment Whelen Outdoor Warning Siren systems (the manufacturer of OKC's sirens). There are others to be sure.

Unfortunately, despite negative feedback from Oklahoma City citizens, Oklahoma City's Emergency Management Director, appears to have planted his stake firmly in concrete and does not appear to be inclined to move it. As I don't live in OKC, I can fuss, fume, and provide information, but I don't have a say.

WeatherWarn - Warning At your Fingertips! (http://weatherwarn.com)

Your saying the average person in Oklahoma being isn't going to be curious to what's going on when sirens are going off in the middle of the day in Spring?No, we're saying that the average person is NOT going to be interested the third time the siren sounds in a single afternoon, when the first two times it was for storms 30 miles away from him and moving away. And that that third time, which he ignores, is for a different storm just 5 minutes away from him and approaching rapidly.

Granted that usually there are other warning symptoms such as increased cloud cover and lots of lightning, but not always. Teaching the public to ignore the warnings is very poor policy.

Here is just one versatile system including polygon based activation that is specifically designed to compliment Whelen Outdoor Warning Siren systems (the manufacturer of OKC's sirens). There are others to be sure.

Unfortunately, despite negative feedback from Oklahoma City citizens, Oklahoma City's Emergency Management Director, appears to have planted his stake firmly in concrete and does not appear to be inclined to move it. As I don't live in OKC, I can fuss, fume, and provide information, but I don't have a say.

WeatherWarn - Warning At your Fingertips! (http://weatherwarn.com)

But as someone with the information and credibility to provide relevant information, you contribute a great deal to the discussion.

What's going to have to happen is that OKC citizens who are providing this negative feedback are going to have to become more organized and more forceful in the expression of their sentiments. This is a city of its citizens.

Polite, respectful letters to both Mayor Cornett, your local city council representative, and to the Emergency Management Director expressing the concern and providing alternatives and options such as those discussed here are precisely what must be conveyed on no uncertain terms. I haven't written a letter to the Council in a few years. I think it's time to fire up the ol' word processor again :)

Engaging organizations such as the NWS, particularly in light of their "Living With Extreme Weather" project (that I quite incidentally started an article here the other day) might prove an opportune time to change the course of OKC weather warnings and responses. The days of blaring an entire county or counties into a warning mode when it isn't necessary, especially when we have so much better quality warning information, simply must come to an end.

I just don't understands some people's logic at all. As I said, I appreciate the sirens whether I'm being directly affected or not. It's not just about my personal safety. Many times when sirens sound that I know don't affect me, I have contacted others that I know in more directly impacted areas to be sure they are aware and are safe. That give me much comfort and I hope they continue the policy exactly as it is.

I just don't understands some people's logic at all. As I said, I appreciate the sirens whether I'm being directly affected or not. It's not just about my personal safety. Many times when sirens sound that I know don't affect me, I have contacted others that I know in more directly impacted areas to be sure they are aware and are safe. That give me much comfort and I hope they continue the policy exactly as it is.

How can I say this without sounding terse? This isn't about you being personally affected. It isn't about my being personally affected. It's about the unintended consequence and inherent inefficiency and waste of inappropriate warning. What logic is there in warning people where there is nothing to be warned about? I don't understand the logic of persisting a situation that implicitly rationalizes terrifying children in a city already terrorized by the reality of tornadoes, let alone ones not even threatening their city or their school!! It makes no more sense to warn the unthreatened than to take a medication for a disease I don't have - even if it makes someone else "feel better."

It's about businesses who lose employees that leave early because they hear severe weather is threatening somewhere it isn't. It's about the upheaval of an entire school for the better part of a day to respond to a non-existent threat. You deprive kids of a school day; you create needless angst and upset among children for absolutely no reason. It's about generations who have been trained to react to sirens now inadvertently being trained to ignore them because they go off inappropriately, creating the assumption that if they go of, "ehh, it's probably nothing." That's not a fantasy. That's happening right now.

This isn't about my missing a few minutes of my favorite TV show. It's about doing everything we can to leverage our information and our technology to get the critical information people need to the people who need it as efficiently as possible. And I will do as much as I can within reason to see that this current policy is completely revamped to mitigate the opportunity for any child to be terrorized by weather one second longer than is absolutely necessary. I'm sorry, ljbab, but I just can't go along with a situation that says its okay to terrify children for the sake of satisfying a bureaucrat or because it gives an unaffected third party some peculiar peace of mind.

This situation has to stop, and as I said, I will do what I can. We've got to stop just sitting by and allowing the status quo to persist merely for the fact that it's the status quo.

As I said, we totally disagree and I completely support continuing the policy as it is. I will let the city know that I appreciate it because the sirens are absolutely appropriate.

And as for your reference to my being an unaffected third party, if I have friends or loved one who in potential danger, I am hardly unaffected.

Everyone needs to remember, the sirens are not just for storms, but for every threat and it is also meant simply as a noticication to check local media or government sources for more information. Therefore, another siren warning is valid if conditions change. It isn't meant to convey any specific threat or location. A tornado will have a very specific locale affected. A massive train derailment and release of chlorine gas could have a far more widespread impact. Again, the siren means you should check elsewhere for specifics.

Everyone needs to remember, the sirens are not just for storms, but for every threat and it is also meant simply as a noticication to check local media or government sources for more information. Therefore, another siren warning is valid if conditions change. It isn't meant to convey any specific threat or location. A tornado will have a very specific locale affected. A massive train derailment and release of chlorine gas could have a far more widespread impact. Again, the siren means you should check elsewhere for specifics.

You're absolutely correct and if get's your attention and don't already know what is happening any reasonable person would seek more information. The only time I don't worry is at noon on Saturday and they recently decided not to do that test one Saturday when storms were expected.

So here is my question. Does OKC blow the entire city's sirens when a warning is put out for Canadian County?

Or let's take the argument with the storm in Purcell spawning tornadoes down there, which was not moving in the direction of OKC at all. If people are all about blowing a siren for that storm, why aren't they going off for every storm that is coming from Grady County up the turnpike? To me that would maybe make a little bit more sense than on a storm is going to completely miss the city unless it makes a hard left turn.

Based on recent activity I'm pretty sure OKC's sirens aren't sounded (in OK county) when either Canadian or Grady counties are under warnings. So here we have arrived at just cherry picking a situation for arguments sake while ignore other situations that are much more likely to threaten the city.

Sorry. I'm in the camp of over use of sirens will lead to people just ignoring them. We already have people whining that tornado warnings are being put out too much.

With regard to Venture’s question, I have heard Oklahoma City’s siren activation policy expressed by official spokespersons both as being limited to “all of its sirens in the county for which a warning has been issued” and, as recently as May 8, as “all sirens in the city” which would include sirens in at least three counties. Someone could nail the Emergency Management Director down on that.

What is now referred to as the “Weather Enterprise” faced a similar issue when the first NOAA weather alert radios came on the market. They all responded to a single 1050Hz audio tone and upon receiving the tone, every radio within about sixty miles of the transmitter site blared a loud alert tone and broadcast severe thunderstorm and tornado watches and severe thunderstorm, tornado, and flash flood warnings for any location within that radius. Consequently, and understandably, as a result of the very frequent alerts that did not remotely pertain to them, people were unplugging their radios especially at night when they needed warnings most. Fortunately, and not too long ago, a feature called “Specific Area Message Encoding (S.A.M.E.) allowed users to enter one or more six digit codes into their radios thereby allowing them to limit warnings to a single county or counties. The code for Oklahoma County is 040109. The first digit was set aside so each county could be subdivided into nine sub areas whereby the code to limit warnings to the far northeast corner of the county might be 340109. This feature has yet to be implemented and may not be if the weather radio manufacturers can incorporate an inexpensive GPS receiver or menu item where the user can enter the GPS coordinates into future radios allowing the radio to determine if it is in a polygon and to only respond to warnings within it. Another feature of newer weather radios further limits annoying alarms by allowing the end user to select which watches and warnings they desire to receive audible alerts. As an example, my weather radio is set for Oklahoma County only and I have opted out of audible alerts for all weather watches and warnings except tornado warnings. As a result of these improvements, more people are inclined to purchase weather radios and, much more important, they are more likely to leave them turned on and to react appropriately when they do alert.

I like to keep abreast of severe weather at my brother’s house in Dallas. For that, I use the WeatherRadio smartphone app by Weather Decision Technologies. Not only does it alert me to severe weather at home, it knows where I am and alerts me if I find myself in a warning polygon anywhere I go. I have set up my brother’s house as one of the locations I want to monitor and receive warnings when they are issued. I allow the app to alert to a somewhat broader selection of warnings than I do my NOAA weather radio.

Maybe they need a PSA to let everyone know that they aren't 'Tornado Sirens' if they are going to be used the way they are currently.

We need more of this in Oklahoma IMHO
This is good work by the NWS and Lamar Advertising Company

http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research...tal-billboards
"When Tornadoes Are Near, States Flash Warnings on Digital Billboards"

Everyone needs to remember, the sirens are not just for storms, but for every threat and it is also meant simply as a noticication to check local media or government sources for more information. Therefore, another siren warning is valid if conditions change. It isn't meant to convey any specific threat or location. A tornado will have a very specific locale affected. A massive train derailment and release of chlorine gas could have a far more widespread impact. Again, the siren means you should check elsewhere for specifics.

While I appreciate the position taken in this post, I'd like to know of as many as even two or three times in my own lifetime that sirens were blown for other than tornadic warnings. I can't think of any.

As I said, we totally disagree and I completely support continuing the policy as it is. I will let the city know that I appreciate it because the sirens are absolutely appropriate.

And as for your reference to my being an unaffected third party, if I have friends or loved one who in potential danger, I am hardly unaffected.

Then we must immediately extrapolate that "unaffected third party" position to blowing sirens in each and every county for each and every storm because, certainly, it wouldn't take much to discover that everyone might know someone in some other county and thus they all have to be warned.

Venture's post is a perfect illustration of precisely this point.

Surely there is a realization that such a notion can't be used as a basis for rational public policy.

Then we must immediately extrapolate that "unaffected third party" position to blowing sirens in each and every county for each and every storm because, certainly, it wouldn't take much to discover that everyone might know someone in some other county and thus they all have to be warned.

Venture's post is a perfect illustration of precisely this point.

Surely there is a realization that such a notion can't be used as a basis for rational public policy.

Actually, I would be fine with that but the city's realistic example of parents at work being warned about potential problems for children in another area of the city is a very realistic scenario and I feel it is an easy position to support and defend as rational public policy.

Here is a graphic of the tornado warning issued this morning that, according to my blown out twitter feed, resulted in outdoor warning sirens in south Oklahoma City being sounded.


http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10857&stc=1

Here is a graphic of the tornado warning issued this morning that, according to my blown out twitter feed, resulted in outdoor warning sirens in south Oklahoma City being sounded.


http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10857&stc=1

I don't even pay attention to the sirens any longer.

Of course now Moore gets to spend the day responding to complains that they shouldn't have sounded the sirens even though it was OKC.

AARON TUTTLE SMASH!!

Here?s audio of Aaron Tuttle screaming and yelling at Channel 5 coworkers? | The Lost Ogle (http://www.thelostogle.com/2015/05/27/heres-audio-of-aaron-tuttle-screaming-and-yelling-at-channel-5-coworkers/)

Audio NSFW


https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=18&v=tKPfB-SL5g0

Here is a graphic of the tornado warning issued this morning that, according to my blown out twitter feed, resulted in outdoor warning sirens in south Oklahoma City being sounded.


http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10857&stc=1

Absurd. And check out this Facebook message from the City of Norman's Emergency Management Page. Sounds a little pointed and you can sense their frustration.

10861

I just got lost in a hilarious compilation of AT articles on TLO because of you posting this, thank you.

I had no idea he tried to charge people for personal forecasts... That is completely hilarious. I feel bad for his fanbase drinking the AT milk (shudder).

Thanks. I missed this post by Norman EM in my feed today. I am sure Emergency Management in both the City of Norman and, particularly, the City of Moore are very frustrated and with very good reason. Somehow, that frustration needs to be converted into positive action.


Absurd. And check out this Facebook message from the City of Norman's Emergency Management Page. Sounds a little pointed and you can sense their frustration.

http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10861&stc=1

Oklahoma: Another soaking storm is on the way. | Oklahoma City - OKC - KOCO.com (http://www.koco.com/weather/oklahoma-another-soaking-storm-is-on-the-way/33346536?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=FBPAGE&utm_campaign=KOCO%205%20News&Content%20Type=Story)