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Boyle changes storm warning protocol

April 04, 2006|LIZ MAPLES

Emergency sirens in Boyle County will sound whenever the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning, county and city officials decided after the area's bout of bad weather Sunday.

Before, the sirens sounded only when a volunteer weather spotter saw a tornado or cloud formations that indicate a tornado could form.

"Tornado warnings are not issued matter of factly," said Robert Szappano, a meteorologist with the weather service in Louisville. "No question about it ... (the) warning sirens should go off" when a tornado warning is issued.

Szappano was surprised to learn that Boyle doesn't already sound its sirens when the weather service issued a warning. He said it's already a policy in most counties in Kentucky.

Boyle County Director of Emergency Management Lennie Shepperson said officials decided Monday to sound the sirens when the weather service issues tornado warnings. The sirens will sound for about three minutes.

The sirens will not go off when there is a tornado watch or severe weather warning.

Shepperson said weather spotters were looking at the western part of the county Sunday and saw no indication of a tornado, but there were many calls from people who wondered why the sirens didn't sound when the warning was issued on television, radio and weather alert radios.

When the weather service issues a watch, people should keep the radio or television on and wait for more information. If the weather service issues a warning, take shelter immediately, Szappano said.

Shepperson said the Louisville media does a more accurate job of forecasting severe weather for this area.

The weather service uses a Doppler radar to determine if and where weather conditions could spawn tornados. The weather service also relies on spotters and emergency management in each county to look for tornado conditions. Boyle County has about 30 volunteer weather spotters, who have been trained to look for tornado conditions.

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