Remember those weather siren tests that blared across town each Friday at noon? They are a thing of the past. Through system upgrades a few years ago, “we can individually and electronically quiz each unit and make sure they are ready,” says Cliff Weaver, director of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Emergency Management Agency.
Vanderburgh County has 41 sirens, including 20 within Evansville, and all are operated using software from Sentry Siren, a warning systems company. Sirens are activated during tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings, and Weaver says they worked perfectly on Dec. 28, when a storm-line touched the county’s north edge and produced five alerts. “We had just replaced the sirens before Christmas and used themfive times the following week,” Weaver says.
Although sirens no longer sound on Fridays, they still are frequently checked — occasionally through systemwide tests that EMA announces on social media — and upgraded, Weaver says: “The local system is constantly being updated.”
