Changes for storm sirens unveiled in southwest Missouri

SPRINGFIELD (AP) - Residents in a large swath of southwest Missouri should be less confused about what is happening when a severe storm siren sounds this year, thanks to a new protocol unveiled by a group of weather, emergency management and broadcasting officials.

The process will standardize when and how outdoor warning signals are used and tested so residents will have no doubt that they should get to a shelter when the sirens go off, said Doug Cramer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

"It's very important because just about every single jurisdiction has different rules about using the sirens - when they sound them, do they have an all-clear signal?" Cramer said Thursday. "It causes a lot of confusion for the public as to what a storm siren actually means."

Cramer joined officials from Joplin, Springfield-Greene County, Branson and broadcasters on Wednesday to announce the voluntary process for Springfield, Joplin and Branson. As of Thursday, 22 municipalities in the Ozarks have expressed interest in the plan. The Ozarks Integrated Warning Team spent 10 months planning the procedure, which is voluntary and free to any municipality.

Under the protocol, the sirens will be activated when the weather service issues a tornado warning or a warning for a thunderstorm producing life-threatening winds. The sirens will generally sound for 3 minutes, be off for 3 minutes and then sound again at 3-minute intervals for as long as the danger persists. There will be no all-clear signal, so people understand that when a siren sounds, they are in danger.

Also, all participating municipalities will test the sirens only at 10 a.m. on the second Wednesday of the month.

"If we could capture one message for the public to understand the sirens, that would be a great benefit to saving lives," said Chet Hunter, director of the Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management.

Word of the new proposal is spreading quickly, with one northwest Missouri county inquiring after Wednesday's announcement.

"We think a good chunk of southern Missouri is going to be on an easy-to-understand, common system this storm season," Cramer said.

The organizers would be pleased to help jurisdictions across the state, or in other states, implement the system, Hunter said.

"If this becomes bigger than what it was intended to be, that would be great," he said. "If that generic document spreads storm safety through the state, more power to it. We'd be tickled pink because that was the goal."