Air raid sirens. Well, obviously, now they're called civil defense sirens, or tornado sirens. The ones around here just fired off, meaning that the big line of thunderstorms headed our way has touched off a tornado warning.
No matter what you call them, though, I just hate the sound. It's not a happy sound, and it reminds me of when I was a kid, and the television would go black and then they'd say there was a Special Report. I always just knew the Russians had decided to lob a few our way.
Yep--sure enough--here's the deal:
ALC009-073-282030-
/O.NEW.KBMX.TO.W.0168.051128T1952Z-051128T2030Z/
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
152 PM CST MON NOV 28 2005
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
SOUTHWESTERN BLOUNT COUNTY IN CENTRAL ALABAMA
THIS INCLUDES THE AREA OF RICKWOOD CAVERNS
NORTH CENTRAL JEFFERSON COUNTY IN CENTRAL ALABAMA
THIS INCLUDES THE AREA OF WARRIOR
* UNTIL 230 PM CST
* AT 148 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 17 MILES WEST OF
KIMBERLY...OR ABOUT 7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF CORDOVA...MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 65 MPH.
* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
8 MILES NORTHWEST OF KIMBERLY BY 200 PM CST
RICKWOOD CAVERNS...SMOKE RISE...WARRIOR AND 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF
TRAFFORD BY 205 PM CST
This isn't close by anyplace my family is, thank goodness. If it's near you, you probably don't need to be reading Possumblog for the next few minutes or so.
UPDATE: 2:35 pm--the blasted things just went off again, and there's no corresponding tornado warning from the NWS. I am about ready to think that someone just likes listening to them.
UPDATE: 2:59 pm--apparently someone was just psychic. The weather service just issued another warning at 2:54. Of course, no sirens this time, I guess since they already sounded them earlier.
UPDATE: 3:15 pm--well, a little closer this time--the warning was reissued at 3:05, and the sirens just now went off. Well--hold on--there was one at 3:14, so this one was right on the money.
Disconcerting part in all this? We're supposed to go to the ground floor when our building coordinator tells us to, but I just found out someone turned off our emergency use only walkie-talkie. ::sigh::
Posted by Terry Oglesby at November 28, 2005 01:56 PMStay safe down there.
Posted by: Jordana at November 28, 2005 02:07 PMFrom what I can tell from the Doppler Multimillion X-500, you're going to have to watch out, too. In fact, everyone all the way up to the UP of Michigan. That's one big line of storms.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at November 28, 2005 02:19 PM(Barney Fife voice, reaching into shirt pocket) TERRY! Can I put the batteries in the walkie talkie? Can I? HUH?!?!?
Posted by: skillzy at November 28, 2005 03:45 PMAs long as you don't shoot a hole in your foot with it.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at November 28, 2005 03:48 PMThat is the one of the few things I don't miss about Wisconsin. I'll take a hurricane over a tornado any day, at least you get a few days warning with a hurrican.
Posted by: Sarah G. at November 28, 2005 04:58 PM