Outdoor Warning Siren
Severe weather and tornadoes can happen any time of year but spring brings the greatest threat to the Piedmont Area. Stay ’weather alert’ anytime severe weather is in the forecast. Make sure you know what to do if severe weather is heading your way. Warning siren policies vary from locality to locality. Here is some important information about Madison’s policy.
Madison has three siren sites: one located at City Hall on Main Street, one in Bill Wood Park, and one at the intersection of Eatonton and Fairground roads. There are also nine sirens placed throughout Morgan County. Warning sirens are most useful for alerting people who are outside their home, in parks, or shopping areas. Make sure you have at least two ways to receive a warning. A NOAA All Hazards Radio is the best way to receive a warning and the details associated with that warning (especially overnight). You can also sign up for Nixle and CodeRED through the Morgan County website.
Outdoor Warning Siren Activation
Our policy calls for the activation of our outdoor warning siren under the following conditions:
- A tornado WARNING is issued for Morgan County by the National Weather Service.
- A tornado is sighted by a trained spotter or public safety official.
When the siren is activated it will sound for 3 minutes. When the siren stops it does not mean that the danger is over. There is only one tone that will be sounded. There will be no “ALL CLEAR” signal provided by the siren. If the siren sounds again a few minutes later or hours later that will mean that a new threat has been detected and you should seek shelter immediately.
When the siren sounds you should move indoors to a safe structure and tune in to the local radio, TV, or NOAA weather radio for more information. Even if the siren does not activate and the weather appears threatening, seek shelter immediately.
Siren Testing
The siren will be tested on the first Wednesday of the month at 11 a.m. when the weather is clear.