Sheriff's office: Siren procedure has no 'all-clear'

In the aftermath of Sunday's tornado in Hugo and questions raised about whether the sirens worked properly, the Washington County Sheriff's Office this morning issued a news release saying it is important that ...

[BUDMAN]

EVERYTHING FUNCTIONED CORRECTLY

[Chad]

i heard on the radio today someone that thought the sirens stay on until the tornado warning has expired....are you really that clueless.....i would be really pissed off if they kept the sirens on for an hour, non-stop....if you hear a tornado siren, seek shelter and find out what is going on, dont seek shetler for 5 minutes, hear the sirens stop, then go back outside, come on people, it is not that hard to take some personal responsiblity for your own safety.....

[Jerami]

Look up at the sky and it should be obvious dangerous storms are coming...I look at the sky and listen to that more then I would listed to a siren or weather guys who are looking at radar...the sky says it all.

[Kabby]

Chad wrote:

i heard on the radio today someone that thought the sirens stay on until the tornado warning has expired....are you really that clueless.....i would be really pissed off if they kept the sirens on for an hour, non-stop....if you hear a tornado siren, seek shelter and find out what is going on, dont seek shetler for 5 minutes, hear the sirens stop, then go back outside, come on people, it is not that hard to take some personal responsiblity for your own safety.....

Chad you have to realize these are humans we're taking about. The stupidest species on the planet! I am sure we'll have to spend millions to have a second sound to end the warning for people who just don't know how to think for themselves. I mean after they blow the whistles and get the swimmers out of the water after a Shark warning do you go jump right back in the water? NO!

[Andy]

I really feel for the families with injured loved ones, as well as the family that lost their little boy.

But, I hope to god we don't go down the path of lawsuits on this issue. It's coming.

[Superior91]

First, my sympathies for the families effected by this disaster, and the poor family that lost their child.

One woman on the news was so oblivious to tornados, that she thought that a tornado would just pick up a house and set it back down like on "the wizard of oz" When my family and myself see severe weather coming, we prepare for the storm and take shelter in the basement, like we did on sunday. Close all the windows, pick up all the toys in the yard and put them away. Close all the blinds and curtains, and make sure we have our emergency supplies ready.

Obviously when you sustain a direct hit, there is nothing you can do but pray, as the one guy who was in his basement under the stairs, and the stairs got sucked right out and away.

Thank goodness more lives were not lost.

[Bobs]

kabby's correct... unfortunately most people have no desire to think for themselves or take responsibility for their own actions. they all want freedom, but they don't want to have take the steps to behave rationally that shwos that they can manage themselves...

[jgb]

The first thing you do when the siren goes off is turn on the T.V. or the radio (put it on the weather channel NOT the soap opera channel) and find out whats going on AND if your ind the path of destruction. Been there done it.
The damm siren is only a WARNING that you should take your ass and put it in the basement UNTIL your radio tells you the storm has advanced past your location!!
Don't point fingers at city represetatives for YOUR lack of responsibilities.
I'm going to get a weather alert radio for times that may come up during night times and I could be caught while sleeping.
They are cheep insurance for your life.

[Big Lake Res]

The core of the problem is that people have come to depend on the government to tell them what to do instead of thinking for themselves.

[Dragn]

but didnt we watch a film every year in school that covered this? getting a radio is the best thing to do as you can run most of them on battries and as storms many times do. will knock your power out and leave you even more clueless then you were before the storm warnings. Just so we all remember go to the lowest part of a building and stay away from all windows and yes make sure they are all closed and covered to reduce the amount of debries flying around as a storm can put a straw through a telephonepole in those kind of winds. If you dont remember these simple steps then I would call it thinning out the sick and weak of the heard

[annoymous]

You have to wonder if folks that work for the local government like this bozo sheriff in the story, knows anything about hearing a tornado siren outside. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that civil defense sirens are use to WARNED people, not to ignore it.

By the way, where in the hell did this guy every got his background education?

[Bud Kraehling]

annoymous wrote:

You have to wonder if folks that work for the local government like this bozo sheriff in the story, knows anything about hearing a tornado siren outside. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that civil defense sirens are use to WARNED people, not to ignore it.
By the way, where in the hell did this guy every got his background education?

Hey DImWit....wHerE diD U gEt ur EdJukAshun

[complacent]

When I was a kid, my mom used to warn us on those hot muggy days to keep an eye on the sky and to be prepared to take shelter. We were taught about how the hair on your arms would stand up when an electrical storm (i.e. lightning) was near. We knew the difference between puffy fair-weather clouds and wall clouds.
All of that was 20-30 years ago. And now I tell my kids to keep an eye on the sky when I know the weather could become severe.
Another reader mentioned weather radios, local radio, and television. The sirens warn you--the media tells you what that warning means and reminds you of how you're supposed to respond.
Just because tornadoes don't strike as often this far north does not mean that they never do. We've all seen the massive destructive power of tornadoes in most parts of the state of Minnesota.
Need some examples? Chandler/Lake Wilson, St Peter, Comfry, Fridley, and now Hugo. For our Wisconsin readers--New Richmond was almost completely leveled around the turn of the century. There are many more examples--too many to mention, but enough to show that tornadoes do, in fact, happen in Minnesota.

[Bob]

Everyone I've asked said they would expect sirens to continue to sound until the threat is passed.

Arn't the sirens able to be run for more than 5 minutes?

If a tornado is on the ground I say wear the sirens out and I expect them to be screaming after the tornado is gone and damage is done!

Police cars run their sirens full time they are on a high speed run, at 2 AM, even thou they arn't driving through a intersection, think about it..

If TORNADO turn the sirens ON AND LEAVE THEM ON!!

How complex can that be?

Remember the sirens also alert people driving into an area under alert so they also need a warning, they might not have their car radio on.

[Rabinowitz Law Office]

Can't wait to cash in on this.

[DFL Don]

It's Bush and Pawlenty's fault.

[Heywood Ja]

Bob wrote:

Everyone I've asked said they would expect sirens to continue to sound until the threat is passed.
Arn't the sirens able to be run for more than 5 minutes?
If a tornado is on the ground I say wear the sirens out and I expect them to be screaming after the tornado is gone and damage is done!
Police cars run their sirens full time they are on a high speed run, at 2 AM, even thou they arn't driving through a intersection, think about it..
If TORNADO turn the sirens ON AND LEAVE THEM ON!!
How complex can that be?
Remember the sirens also alert people driving into an area under alert so they also need a warning, they might not have their car radio on.

You and "everyone you asked" are complete idiots Bob. Leave the sirens on? Get real. As someone stated above, MOST people were taught as children what to watch for in the sky. Take an hour out of your busy, self absorbed life, and educate yourself on what to look for when it comes to severe weather and tornados. If you can't do that, You and "everyone you asked" had better never leave the city limits to go camping, hunting, fishing, stay at a resort, go for a hike, etc... And forget about EVER living out in the country, because the last time I looked, I didn't have a Tornado Siren mounted in the oak trees in my back yard.

What ever happened to "personal responsibility?" I heard it used to be out there once...

[Chad]

Heywood Ja wrote:

<quoted text>
You and "everyone you asked" are complete idiots Bob. Leave the sirens on? Get real. As someone stated above, MOST people were taught as children what to watch for in the sky. Take an hour out of your busy, self absorbed life, and educate yourself on what to look for when it comes to severe weather and tornados. If you can't do that, You and "everyone you asked" had better never leave the city limits to go camping, hunting, fishing, stay at a resort, go for a hike, etc... And forget about EVER living out in the country, because the last time I looked, I didn't have a Tornado Siren mounted in the oak trees in my back yard.
What ever happened to "personal responsibility?" I heard it used to be out there once...

agreed

[Lost]

I'm with Chad and Heywood Ja on this one.

Tornado watches can be in effect for hours. Nobody in their right mind wants to listen to that siren for hours. You will no longer be in your right mind by the time that siren ends.

Bob - were you not taught in grade school how to look and the sky and the clouds to see what they're telling you?

[I agree]

with Kate and Chad

and remember folks

"Freedom IS responsibility!"