The “tornado siren”. Today, they are almost exclusively used to warn residents of a community, while they are outdoors, of hazardous weather events. But they weren’t always used for that.

During the cold war in the 1950s, sirens were acquired and installed by Civil Defense agencies throughout the country as part of Harry Truman’s Civil Defense Act. They were designed to warn people of a pending nuclear attack. In other words, if you heard the siren, you “ducked and covered” to protect yourself from the bright detonation flash and subsequent shock wave and fallout.

Later, in the early 1970s, they started to be used to alert residents of tornadoes and significant severe weather events as well.

The sirens use wireless technology to listen to their command to sound, and that command can come from several locations. The Rice/Steele Pearl Street dispatch center, Rice County Emergency Management offices at the law enforcement center, through mobile sources if necessary, and even manually as a last resort.

Here in Rice County, the sirens have been programmed to be able to sound in 10 separate quadrants. For example, if there is a threat near Faribault but not Morristown, Faribault sirens can sound, but not Morristown’s. Configuring the sirens in this way helps prevent confusion from having them sound when the threat is 10 or more miles away. Quadrants include Faribault, Northfield, Dundas, Nerstrand, Morristown, Warsaw, Millersburg, The Lakes, Veseli, and Lonsdale.

During today’s siren test, just like every 1st Wednesday of the month, you heard two distinct patterns. The first is what we call “alert mode”. That’s when the sirens spin up and produce a steady tone for a duration of time, and then spin back down. That mode gets used during severe weather. Then, the “attack mode” is tested. That is the classic “rise and fall” pattern that is commonly associated with a nuclear attack. Both are always tested, because you just never know.

Today, the severe weather alert sirens mean one thing. “Something urgent is going on. Get inside, and check your local radio, or online news source for more information.” That is their sole job. Always remember, THERE IS NEVER AN ALL CLEAR SIGNAL. Several factors such as cut electrical lines or mechanical failure could cause sirens to stop sounding, but the threat could still be very real.

With today’s efficient homes and commercial buildings, you will need a NOAA weather radio, weather app on your cell phone, or other way to alert you indoors instead of relying on the sirens. Despite that fact, the sirens still provide a useful and important service in Rice County.