Etowah County getting new severe weather siren activation system - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

Etowah County getting new severe weather siren activation system and policy

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By Jeff Wyatt - email

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  • Friday, May 17 2013 11:17 PM EDT2013-05-18 03:17:33 GMT
    An inmate is on the loose in Etowah County.  The Sheriff's department says an inmate kitchen worker escaped the Etowah County Detention Center (ECDC) Friday morning.  Justin Wade Hopkins, 30, escaped from
    The Etowah County Sheriff's Office says an inmate kitchen worker escaped the Etowah County Detention Center Friday morning. 

Beginning on June 1, 2012, outdoor warning sirens in Etowah County will no longer be sounded countywide during tornado warnings. A new siren activation system, called Weather Warn, will allow the Gadsden/Etowah County Emergency Management Agency to activate sirens for tornado warnings based on the polygon warnings system used by the National Weather Service in Birmingham.
 
  The polygon warning system was implemented by the National Weather Service in Birmingham on October 1, 2007. It allows the weather service to issue warnings to locations and people who are most likely to be impacted by a storm. Until now, the EMA has only had the ability to sound the outdoor warning sirens countywide. Now, sirens will only be activated in areas which stand the greatest risk of being impacted by a tornado. EMA Director Mike Bryant said, "This new system will allow us to be more precise and efficient with our warnings. Fewer siren activations means less costs associated with siren repairs, and more importantly, a greater sense of urgency on behalf of the public to take action when warnings are issued."
 
  Outdoor warning sirens are meant to only be used to receive warnings when a person is outdoors. Individuals should always have multiple ways of receiving weather warnings and information. These include weather radios, cell phone messaging systems such as Nixle and Saf-T-Net, local media, and smart phone apps.
 
Members of the Gadsden/Etowah EMA staff will be attending local municipalities city council meetings to answer questions and address details.
 
For more information, contact the Gadsden/Etowah County Emergency Management Agency at 256-549-4575.