Boone County uses outdoor warning sirens for first time this year

Many counties in mid-Missouri were under tornado warnings Monday night.

It was the first time Boone County Joint Communications officials activated the outdoor warning sirens this year, not including testing the system.

The sirens were activated in only north and central Boone County.

Joe Piper, deputy director of Boone County Joint Communications, said the sirens go off for only three minutes and then stop.

“We do not sound the sirens to mean that everything is all clear. If the sirens are sounded twice, it means that they’re being sounded twice for a reason,” Piper said.

Piper said the sirens are not called “tornado sirens” because they are not used solely for tornado warnings. He also said they are called “outdoor warning sirens” because they are supposed to warn those who are outside and not in their homes.

Piper advises people to get a weather radio that doesn’t rely on electricity or the Internet. Once the sirens are activated, he said, people should get to the closest safe place and listen to the weather radio, applications or local news for more information.

There are 67 outdoor warning sirens located all across Boone County.

Joint Communications is in charge of activating the sirens, but the Office of Emergency Management is in charge of where the sirens are placed and the amount of time they should go off.

More information about the outdoor warning sirens and where they are located can be found on Boone County’s website.