Officials urge reliance on technology over sirens for storm alerts

In the wake of an incident in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, where a lightning strike disabled a siren right before a tornado hit, emergency officials are urging residents to rely on modern technology rather than traditional outdoor warning sirens for storm alerts.| MORE | Woman describes scary moments when severe storms hit BarnsdallKOCO 5 Meteorologist Michael Armstrong said there are much better methods to know a tornado is headed toward a city, especially in the age of technology.”I hope they stay on top of things a little more because we don’t expect these things to happen, but they do,” said Kathleen Catlett, a Barnsdall resident. Catlett was able to take shelter thanks to a phone warning after the siren failure. Barnsdall Mayor Johnny Kelly explained the technical failure of the sirens. “In between the 60 seconds or so it takes for the sirens to activate, our siren on the hill took a direct lightning strike, and it got the breaker in it, and then our other two sirens — it blew up the AC-DC converters in both of those,” Kelly said.The question about whether outdoor warning sirens are outdated and should continue to be used was posed to National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Rick Smith. “I don’t think we should just get rid of them. I’m not saying cut them all down and just eliminate them. They do have a role, and their role is to alert people who are outside not otherwise paying attention to the weather to go see what’s going on,” Smith said.>> Download the KOCO 5 AppSmith emphasized that sirens should be one of many methods used to receive warnings, not the only or final method. “We’ve talked to people who have heard the television coverage of a tornado watch then a tornado warning. Then they hear a storm, then they hear the roaring sound outside. But they didn’t get up off the couch because they never heard that siren. People rely too heavily on that siren as their official final warning,” Smith said. Outdoor warning sirens are designed to warn those who are outside. Oklahomans are encouraged to have a plan and always remain weather aware. The KOCO 5 First Alert Weather Team is always working to keep Oklahomans informed, and they can download the KOCO 5 App to get weather alerts in case of severe storms. Be sure to download the KOCO 5 App to receive customized weather alerts. You can watch our team coverage on the app, too.>> Check Closings>> Check Live, Interactive Radar>> Watch KOCO 5 Coverage>> Download the KOCO 5 App on iPhone>> Download the KOCO 5 App on Android>> “Like” KOCO 5 on Facebook>> “Follow” KOCO 5 on X