Cities coordinate siren protocol

Most metro-area cities are now on the same page for sounding their respective tornado sirens.

Cities will sound the sirens when an “imminent threat” of tornadoes is present. At that point, citizens should take shelter and seek additional information from television reports, weather radio or the National Weather Service, Del City Fire Department spokesman Brandon Pursell said.

Del City is among a group of metro area cities that decided to standardize their use of sirens and warning system tests. The other cities include Midwest City, Oklahoma City, Norman, Edmond, Moore and Choctaw.

Confusion among citizens prompted the change, Pursell said.

“Citizens were wondering if it was an all-clear or a new threat,” he said. “From now on, no all-clear sirens will be sounded. If people hear a second siren, they should take shelter again.”

In addition, some cities sounded the sirens for hail and high winds.

Even with the clarification, some Del City and Midwest City residents may hear sirens that will not affect them, because of their proximity to Oklahoma City.

“Oklahoma City’s protocol is to sound the sirens in that county where the warning is,” Pursell said.

Oklahoma City is located in four counties: Oklahoma, Canadian, Cleveland and Pottawatomie.

“Now, if there was a tornado in southwest Oklahoma City, then we’ll sound the siren, because it could be an imminent threat to us here in Del City,” Pursell said.

Each jurisdiction will decide unilaterally if the conditions pose a validated imminent threat. As a city sounds its sirens, officials there will notify nearby cities of their action through a new weather radio channel.

“If there’s a tornado coming from the southwest and Moore sounds its sirens, they would put that out on the radio and give us an indication we should do the same,” Mike Bower, Midwest City’s emergency management director, said.

The imminent threat agreement went into effect March 5. So far, the sirens have remained silent.

“When it does sound, we’re meaning business,” Pursell said. “We want people to take action.”

Citizens should also be aware that siren testing will occur at noon on Saturdays for all metro cities. Previously, Midwest City, Del City, Tinker and Norman tested their sirens on Wednesdays.

Midwest City will now test sirens on the first and third Saturdays of each month, Bower said. Del City is scheduled to test sirens each Saturday, Pursell said. The Saturday tests may be suspended when the National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning; imminent threat of severe weather; freezing temperatures or there are requests to not sound the system because of large outdoor special events, sporting events or ceremonies.

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