What cities have tornado or severe weather sirens?

[Wheelingman04]

Wheeling, WV doesn't. Neither does Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has thought about getting them because there have been a few tornadoes over the past few years in the city and Allegheny County.

[Steely Dan]

how can a city not have alert sirens? i thought they installed these systems nationwide during the red-scare of the cold war to alert citizens of potential soviet air raids. of course nowadays the only thing chicago's sirens are used for is tornado alert, now that the propsect of soviet bombers careening over the north pole and dropping a nuclear hell from above upon us has pretty much faded.

[brickell]

Hasn't sprawl and mass media kind of made the sirens pointless? I don't think any place I've lived in Florida has had any sirens.

[wrab]

These tornado sirens went off just last month in Chicago's Gold Coast/Lincoln Park & elsewhere, though nothing touched down. The Trib mentioned that it was the first time in recent memory that the city had used the sirens.

[HomeInMyShoes]

There's one just a couple blocks away from me where I live in St. Louis. I've heard it go off (non-testing) three times since Summer 2005. It spooks me when it does and a couple of times during tests, I almost expected the bombers to fly overhead.

[Steely Dan]

The Trib mentioned that it was the first time in recent memory that the city had used the sirens.

well, that's not exactly true, they do test chicago's siren system on the first tuesday of every month.

and doing some research on wikipedia, here's a list of major US cities that have siren alert systems. it's really weird, but being that i've lived all of my life in chicago and the twin cities (both cities with sirens), i just assumed every place in america had a siren alert system.

* Birmingham, Alabama
* Baltimore, Maryland
* Chicago, Illinois
* Cincinnati, Ohio
* Columbus, Ohio
* Dallas, Texas
* Detroit, Michigan
* Dayton, Ohio
* Fort Worth, Texas
* Honolulu, Hawaii
* Indianapolis, Indiana
* Kansas City, Missouri
* Louisville, Kentucky
* Memphis, Tennessee
* Madison, Wisconsin
* Milwaukee, Wisconsin
* Minneapolis, Minnesota
* Nashville, Tennessee
* Oklahoma City
* Omaha, Nebraska
* San Francisco, California
* St. Louis, Missouri
* St. Paul, Minnesota
* Tulsa, Oklahoma

there definitely seems to be a concentration in the tornado belt of the midwest/south central united states.

[Major AWACS]

Ones I know well.

OKLAHOMA CITY

Sprawl doesn't play a huge factor in there worth, other than needed to put up more. OKC is one of the most, if not the most sprawled US city and it uses the sirens often and usually to sucess.

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
Capt-AWACS, Fvc# the Dutch Politie

[vertex]

Lubbock, Tx.

For them thar tornadic activities...

[village person]

Cape Girardeau, MO has tornado sirens.

I'd never heard of nor seen any kind of sirens in Jacksonville, FL or any other nearby towns.

[coddat]

SMU (dallas) has them on campus...scared the crap out of us one spring day my freshman year three years ago.....

[Cleveland Brown]

i just assumed every place in america had a siren alert system.

Me too! This was true even when I lived in Ypsilanti (outside of Ann arbor).

On another note, I couldn't figure out why a large percentage of homes and buildings in Oklahoma lacked tornado protection (basement or a saferoom). Out of all the places in the midwest it seems as if OK would be best protected. I could understand that a high water table would perhaps prohibit basements, but why no saferooms in many older buildings.

For those who have seen tornados or severe weather, NOTHING compares to being in bad weather in Oklahoma.

[Navin]

being that i've lived all of my life in chicago and the twin cities (both cities with sirens), i just assumed every place in america had a siren alert system.

++ to everything you said. How can a city not have them? I assumed that even if there's no risk of tornadoes that other cities had them for other weather/civil defense purposes. I guess not.

Does every city have the BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-"this is only a test"-BRRRRRRRRRRRRR shrieking tone thing on their radio and TV stations like Minneapolis does? "If this had been an actual emergency, the sound you heard would be followed by directions, blah, blah..."

[Cleveland Brown]

++ to everything you said. How can a city not have them? I assumed that even if there's no risk of tornadoes that other cities had them for other weather/civil defense purposes. I guess not.

Does every city have the BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-"this is only a test"-BRRRRRRRRRRRRR shrieking tone thing on their radio and TV stations like Minneapolis does? "If this had been an actual emergency, the sound you heard would be followed by directions, blah, blah..."

:previous: :yes: Tested regularly while ruining TV viewing for awhile. When I lived in Ypsi, the the county took control of the TV programing to warn of severe weather. Nothing like flipping through 100+ channels with nothing more than a blue screen, words and a verbal warning.

[MolsonExport]

I've heard that NYC is installing TalB sirens.

[BTinSF]

Yeah, San Francisco has one they test every Tuesday at noon. Aside from telling everyone it's noon on Tuesday, I'm not sure what it's for. I don't think they are good enough yet a predicting earthquakes to have a siren for them. maybe it's for tsunamis.

[MNMike]

Minneapolis uses them...
This year, first the national weather service was told they were using the sirens too much, when storms weren't that severe(the public and media complained)....then the public turned around and complaiend they weren't using them enough because they didn't sound the siren for a borderline storm that ended up developing a tornado, and killing someone. It really made me mad, just let them do their job, and they probably would have sounded the sirens for that storm.

[Shadow11P]

I not too sure, but I think London ON got rid of its sirens a few years ago. The sirens which used to be around on Dundas St. and on my old public school have disappeared since the late 90's.

Not good considering we're in an area of high tornado activity (by Canadian standards) and that the Weather Network is horrible at handing out warnings to the city effectively. They either issue warnings (including Tornado warnings) 10 - 20 minutes after the storm has passed, issue warnings when its obvious nothing is going to occur, or never issue a warning when a severe storm is occuring. One day they even showed video of the same funnel clouds I saw over east London yet they didn't even give us a severe thunderstorm warning when it was happening.:rolleyes:

[mind field]

Wow, I'm with Steely Dan, I thought everywhere from the Rockies east to the Atlantic coast of this country had tornado warning sirens. I don't know how extensive metro Detroit's network is, but everyplace I've lived has had a siren within a few miles.

[keninhalifax]

They took down some of the last remaining air raid sirens in Ottawa only about a decade ago. I don't think, however, we've ever had severe weather sirens. I suppose that snowstorms don't approach with quite the same ferocity as do tornadoes and earthquakes.

[Front_Range_Guy]

Colorado Springs did at one time... but as the city started to sprawl, and people started to rely more on the media for weather information, it was decided it was a waste of money. I don't think CS has had a tornado siren system for decades.

[BroncoCSU05]

come to think of it...i haven't heard sirens in denver in forever...i guess we don't have one anymore? but they test the SHIT outta the media systems. it's fucking annoying.

[Front_Range_Guy]

I think the government requires a "coordinated weekly test" of the Emergency Alert System by media outlets... I alway's assumed it was FCC mandated for every market, but I could be wrong.

[MayorOfChicago]

that's so weird, I guess it's just cause I grew up in tornado alley and heard the sirens a few times a year, I just naturally assumed every city in the country had sirens.

my hometown still rings the siren every night at 5pm, going back decades now. We just call it "the 5 o'clock whistle". It's always fun when people who don't live in town hear it go off and think we're under attack.

The city also has a volunteer fire department, so every time there's a fire the sirens go off all over town until enough people call in. I think the reason we have "the five o'clock whistle" is to make sure the sirens are tested daily since the entire town depends on it for fire protection.

I was use to hearing them multiple times a day my whole life, let alone tornado warnings when they can blare for over an hour straight.

[Wheelingman04]

^ One reason a lot of cites like Pittsburgh don't have them is because they are too damn expensive to buy and maintain.

[dave8721]

I lived in Cheyenne Wyoming for a few years as a child and I remeber we had Tornado sirens there.

After that I lived in a house in the Cutler Ridge area of Miami and we had sirens in case of a meltdown at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant, I think thats a pretty unique one.

[dave8721]

Here is an interesting siren that is being installed in Coral Gables, Fl. Its a lightning alert siren.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/miami-dade/cities_neighborhoods/south_miami/16119321.htm

''It's been proven to be 97-percent accurate, meaning there's a 97 percent chance that lightning will strike within a two-mile radius in the next eight to 12 minutes,'' Couceyro said.

A 15-second blast of the horn means ''red alert'' -- that conditions are ripe for a lightning strike within 20 minutes, giving people time to seek shelter, Couceyro said.

An amber strobe will flash until the storm has passed. When conditions outside are safe, three five-second blasts will give an ''all clear'' signal so that families can resume outdoor activities, Couceyro explained

[CONative]

Denver still has warning sirens.

[Jersey Mentality]

SMU (dallas) has them on campus...scared the crap out of us one spring day my freshman year three years ago.....

They have them here on my campus at UIS (University of Illinois @ Springfield). They also had them in South Suburban Chicago. I dont think where I lived in New Jersey had them.

[Xing]

I grew up hearing them so often that I never know when it's a drill or a real warning.

[Gregorius]

Yup, Honolulu has them and we use them for tsunami warning, not the more traditional severe weather or tornado threat.

[woodrow]

Awww - fond childhood memories. Growing up in suburban KC (Independence MO) we definitely had the sirens. In fact, there was one about two blocks from my house. Huge column, like two feet in diameter and about thirty feet high, with a siren on top that revolved. We had monthly tests during tornado season - first Wednesday of the month - and I loved the sound.

Unless. Summer. Hot humid day. Clouds building in the late afternoon. 6:00ish. Sky turns green. Sirens sound. Scary. Until it is over. Man I love Midwest thunderstorms. Ferocious.

When the sirens went off in Chicago this fall I was amazed. I have lived here of 16 years and that was the first time I ever heard them.

[BroncoCSU05]

Denver still has warning sirens.

so the WIKI is wrong? (not that i don't doubt that it is wrong). maybe i just havent' heard any in so long because we haven't had an in-city tornado in quite some time?

[zaphod]

My town doesnt have them, though it probably did at one time. Where I live is a bit south of tornado alley, I dont think it really picks up till you start getting around Dallas/Fort Worth. But we do have the annoying TV thing.

now where my grandmother used to live, they have a siren that goes off every day at noon

Anyways, I dunno, I always found them cool.



EDIT: we do have those lightning sirens. They are just for parks though. But since I live near a park I can hear it.

[Steely Dan]

so the WIKI is wrong? (not that i don't doubt that it is wrong). maybe i just havent' heard any in so long because we haven't had an in-city tornado in quite some time?

but you would hear them periodically because any city that has a city-wide siren alert system must test them every so often to ensure they work. chicago's system is tested once a month.

[Taller Better]

We get tornadoes in the summer.

[Jersey Mentality]

Ive read that over 90% of all tornados occur in the United States, mostly due to our climate and the position and shape of the continent as well as many other factors.

[BroncoCSU05]

but you would hear them periodically because any city that has a city-wide siren alert system must test them every so often to ensure they work. chicago's system is tested once a month.


well, i work in boulder during the day and am only in denver during nights and weekends...so maybe that's why?

[rockyi]

Every city in the Quad Cities has their own siren system and each has a different idea on when to start them up. For instance, Davenport blares theirs for every damn thunder storm that comes along and Rock Island seems to want to wait until a tornado is barreling down on the city before they turn theirs on. I can hear the Davenport sirens very easily from here, very confusing. Moline has been testing their sirens every Tuesday morning at 10:00 for as long as I can remember so if there was a tornado on a Tuesday morning at 10:00, nobody would even notice. I found that I have grown immune to all the sirens and just keep the TV or radio on instead.

[fflint]

Yeah, San Francisco has one they test every Tuesday at noon. Aside from telling everyone it's noon on Tuesday, I'm not sure what it's for. I don't think they are good enough yet a predicting earthquakes to have a siren for them. maybe it's for tsunamis.
They actually wailed the air raid sirens here in upper Market on Halloween night when they began the police sweep of the area. First time I've ever heard the sirens wail other than Tuesday noon.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Man, those things used to scare the crap out of me. I hated that sound.

[Coldrsx]

Edmonton still has some kicking around from the 60's....not sure for weather, nuclear attacks, or expected Oiler wins.....

[miketoronto]

Sirens.
There is actually a debate in the Toronto suburb of Pickering about this very thing. Residents of Pickering are upset over the town wanting to install Nuclear Emergancy sirens due to the nuclear plant in the town.

Residents feel the sirens will decrease house values.

From what I heard, the town is going to reduce the number of sirens they where going to put up.

[Xelebes]

Edmonton got rid of it's last air raid siren in 1996 or 1997. The only one I ever saw was along the Whitemud Freeway or 87th Avenue. I forgot where it was. The siren was never used when we had that huge tornado rip through the city in 1987 so... uh... yeah.

[Xelebes]

Edmonton still has some kicking around from the 60's....not sure for weather, nuclear attacks, or expected Oiler wins.....


Where? I'm not sure if I have seen any since the mid nineties.

[miketoronto]

It turns out the Durham Regional website has a section on the Nuclear Emergancy sirens for Pickering and Clarington east of Toronto. They even have links to what the sirens sound like.

Some residents are even getting indoor alerting units.

http://www.region.durham.on.ca/alerting/

http://www.region.durham.on.ca/images/demo/pole.jpg

[Jeffreyny]

NYC. doesn't have them. The weather never seems to be very severe in this part of the country so maybe that is why.
Who could imagine a tornado hitting Manhattan. I know Jersey has had a few small ones in past years but they are rare for the most part and small if at all.
I spend weekends on Long Island's North Fork and they have sirens there but they are used soley for the purpose of calling the volunteer fire dept.
I've never heard them used for weather issues.

[CONative]

well, i work in boulder during the day and am only in denver during nights and weekends...so maybe that's why?

Yeah...I've heard them test them AND when there was a tornado warning 1 year ago that included Denver city/county.

[Wheelingman04]

Every city in the Quad Cities has their own siren system and each has a different idea on when to start them up. For instance, Davenport blares theirs for every damn thunder storm that comes along and Rock Island seems to want to wait until a tornado is barreling down on the city before they turn theirs on. I can hear the Davenport sirens very easily from here, very confusing. Moline has been testing their sirens every Tuesday morning at 10:00 for as long as I can remember so if there was a tornado on a Tuesday morning at 10:00, nobody would even notice. I found that I have grown immune to all the sirens and just keep the TV or radio on instead.

I'll bet the reason Davenport's go off so often is that they turn their sirens on everytime there is a severe thunderstorm warning.

[Stephenapolis]

Minneapolis uses them...
This year, first the national weather service was told they were using the sirens too much, when storms weren't that severe(the public and media complained)....then the public turned around and complaiend they weren't using them enough because they didn't sound the siren for a borderline storm that ended up developing a tornado, and killing someone. It really made me mad, just let them do their job, and they probably would have sounded the sirens for that storm.
I remember that too. All those people up in Rogers crying, "We never heard the Sirens!" That is due to the fact that they went off "too much" the previous year. Well one of those times back in 05' warned me in time from the twister that ravaged my neighborhood and almost hit my house.
In Minnesota they are not just used for tornadoes. They have been used for a warning that a severe T-storm is coming and it could produce a tornado. They are tested monthly from March to October on the first Wednesday of the month at 1 P.M.

[Xing]

Thanks to Chicago, New York may have an idea of what a mega city with skyscrapers looks like, when a tornado comes through.

[rockyi]

I'll bet the reason Davenport's go off so often is that they turn their sirens on everytime there is a severe thunderstorm warning.

That's exactly what they do and it's so damn ineffective. We so many thunderstorms from spring through fall that Davenport residents tend to ignore all the sirens anymore. They need to go back to just warning for tornados.

[alps]

Halifax has some sort of siren system (I guess because of the port), there's one on Bayers Road that I know of. I've only heard it blaring a few times before.

[SuburbanNation]

the sirens in kansas city went off during the recent snowstorm i do believe. i think heard it thunder once or twice while it was snowing. central missouri along the I-70 corridor definitely had thunder snow.

[Jersey Mentality]

Thanks to Chicago, New York may have an idea of what a mega city with skyscrapers looks like, when a tornado comes through.

A tornado going through downtown Chicago would be a very rare event, considering it would be next to impossible that to happen. If it did though that would be a huge disaster. Dallas is the town to watch for though.

[BG918]

I lived in two cities in Oklahoma, Norman and Tulsa, and both have extensive tornado siren networks. In Tulsa they test the sirens for 5 min. at noon every Wednesday, in Norman at noon every Friday, every month of the year. There are two different sirens: one means tornado and is sounded whenever our county is under a tornado warning and another means flood and is sounded whenever the county is under a flood warning. The later is not common but lasts a lot longer, sometimes going for over 30 min. after the flood warning is issued.

[toddguy]

One place near me where they not only have them but also pay close attention to them is Xenia, Ohio, a city of 25,000 southeast of Dayton. The Shawnee indians had a name for Xenia that translated roughly into 'place of the devil winds' or 'land of the crazy winds' and settled mostly away from the spot of the city. Xenia has a history of damaging tornadoes, most recently: 1974(F5 33 killed), 1989, 2000(F4 1 killed). They did not have sirens before the 1974 tornado which destroyed nearly half the city. They did after that and pay attention to them for good reason.

Xenia 1974(pics from the net)

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/2966628.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/xeniatornado.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/xeniaohiohouses.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/park.jpg

Xenia High School before and after:
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/Xenia_Xenia_Highb.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/Xenia_McKinleyb.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/Xenia20Courthouse.jpg

Xenia 2000:

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/xenia33.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/xenia44.jpg




*Xenia also had the misfortune to have the deadliest flash flood in Ohio history with 28 killed in 1886*:

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/1886_Xenia_002_GCHSbig.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/1886_Xenia_003_GCHSbig.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/1886_Xenia_004_GCHSbig.jpg



Xenia today:

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/xenia50e.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/xenia56.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/xenia57.jpg

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/xenia58.jpg


*(all pictures taken from the net. None are mine)*

[Xing]

A tornado going through downtown Chicago would be a very rare event, considering it would be next to impossible that to happen. If it did though that would be a huge disaster. Dallas is the town to watch for though.

Why would it be impossible? The whole city isn't covered in skyscrapers, and it has had tornadoes before. There have been a number of tornado warnings since I've lived here.

[Wheelingman04]

^ It isn't impossible for any part of the city of Chicago to get tornadoes. The city has been hit many times, especially the South Side.

[A&Fcolumbus]

A very far NE section of Columbus had a tornado touch down in a newly built subdivsion this fall. Also a funnel cloud past right over downtown columbus just a month or two ago as well.

They are really loud here in Columbus, its quite eary walking around downtown when they test them every wednesday. Feels like a scene from a world War II movie.

[Saturnfromboise]

Boise has a couple of maybe just one in the north end of Boise around the foothills because of flash floods..

[Jersey Mentality]

Why would it be impossible? The whole city isn't covered in skyscrapers, and it has had tornadoes before. There have been a number of tornado warnings since I've lived here.

But its hard for them to form in Chicago. The heat island effect from the blacktops in Chicago make tornado formation difficult. Also Lake Michigan is an impediment for tornadoes. If a tornado hits Chicago, it probably wondered in from the suburbs.

[toddguy]

But its hard for them to form in Chicago. The heat island effect from the blacktops in Chicago make tornado formation difficult. Also Lake Michigan is an impediment for tornadoes. If a tornado hits Chicago, it probably wondered in from the suburbs.
I agree with the heat island with Chicago to a degree..but other downtown areas of fairly large cities have been hit..Fort Worth Texas not too long ago.
Also generally I agree about the lakes..but not always. Ohio's deadliest tornado in 1924 hit Sandusky, moved out over Lake Erie, then came ashore at Lorain.killed about 85 people in all.

Lorain Ohio 1924:
(15 people killed in the building collapsed in the center of the picture, a theater. worst toll for any single building in Ohio history)
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/toddguy/lorain.jpg

[Wheelingman04]

^Several Tornadoes that hit the city of Chicago also went out into Lake Michigan.

[Via Chicago]

tornados definitely can and do hit chicago

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/severe/SigChiTorn.php

you can hear the sirens going off in this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0m1BN4ZmAQ
yes, this was filmed by a bunch of frat guys :rolleyes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhUST6b6qNg
another view
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2hqy_Wop4A

[Antares41]

I think the last time a tornado hit NYC was in Queens back in 1880's. Of course Queens did not exist back then and it was mostly farmland away from the East River. Other than that I don't know of any other incident of actual confirmed tornado in NYC. I actually never hear a severe weather siren until I when to school in Wisconsin. Here in Buffalo they happen occassionally but they are typically weak (<F1) and short lived.

[Navin]

Sirens are going off right now in downtown Minneapolis. This is the regular monthly first-Wednesday test.

[Wheelingman04]

Thanks for posting that info, Via Chicago.:tup:

[London999]

There was an F2 tornado in London today.

[Steely Dan]

^ for real?

call me stupid, but i never realized that england had thunderstorms strong enough to produce tornados.

you learn something new everyday.

[toddguy]

^^^

Rare tornado damages area of north London
Twister blamed for tearing off roofs, uprooting trees; at least six injured


• Tornado hits London neighborhood
Dec. 7: At least six people have been injured after a small tornado tore through a residential area in northwest London on Thursday.
• Most viewed on MSNBC.com

Updated: 11:55 a.m. ET Dec 7, 2006
LONDON - A tornado Thursday ripped off a section of a wall of a northwest London house, damaged several nearby homes and injured at least six people, authorities said.

A man was taken to a hospital with a head injury, and five other adults were treated at the scene for minor injuries and shock, London Ambulance Service said.

“It came from nowhere, the sky turned dark, hail started falling and then within 10 minutes it was gone,” said resident Perrin Sledge.

“A police officer told me he had a report of the tornado on his radio, turned the corner and saw the wind whip a garbage can into another car. He said it was like a scene from the movie ‘Twister,”’ Sledge said.

London Fire Brigade reported that about 100 properties were affected in a quarter-square-mile area.

Unsettled weather
The freak storm hit just after 11 a.m. on a day of unsettled weather, as high winds, bursts of rain and occasional hail and thunder swept across southern England.

The tornado ripped whole sections of roof off some homes, tore tiles from other roofs, uprooted trees and left the street strewn with debris.

One car was buried under a pile of fallen bricks, video footage from Sky News showed.

“It was like some sort of cyclone,” said Tim Klotz, a resident of the Kensal Rise neighborhood in northwest London.

“I was actually in an attic room working at my desk on the computer and there was heavy rain and sleet and then the wind just really changed. I looked up through a skylight and debris was falling through the air. I heard what seemed like large, clay dominoes falling, which I think were roof tiles,” Klotz said.

Daniel Bidgood told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that he saw a “huge cloud rolling up the street,” making a loud sound.

“I went to try to take a picture of it but a shower of debris smashed all the windows of my house,” Bidgood said.

An average of 33 tornadoes are reported annually in Britain, according to the Tornado and Storm Research Organization.

One of the worst to hit Britain destroyed the church of St. Mary le Bow and 600 homes in central London in 1091.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16090571/

[London999]

^ for real?

call me stupid, but i never realized that england had thunderstorms strong enough to produce tornados.

you learn something new everyday.

It might surprise you, but the UK has the highest density of tornadoes per unit area than any other country in the world. Most however are only F0-F2, the UK does not have enough land area for huge supercell storms to form, although they have happened once or twice before. We do get strong convective thunderstorms on hot summer days though.

This link has some quite good pictures of the damage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/6217898.stm

[Xing]

A tornado going through downtown Chicago would be a very rare event, considering it would be next to impossible that to happen. If it did though that would be a huge disaster. Dallas is the town to watch for though.

I never said through Downtown. I just said Chicago, which was hit before, on the South Side.

Anyway, here's a video of Chicago's sirens going off, taken from... I guess the John Hancock Building.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0m1BN4ZmAQ

[Xing]

^ for real?

call me stupid, but i never realized that england had thunderstorms strong enough to produce tornados.

you learn something new everyday.

England, so I heard, has one of the highest #'s of Tornadoes a year, but they rarely pass F1 or something.

[BG918]

England and a few other parts of the world where the conditions are favorable (moist air flowing up from a relatively warm body of water and convergence and lift due to a low pressure or frontal system bringing cooler, drier air) experience tornadoes every year. I have heard of them happening in several other European countries, parts of Brazil and Argentina, India and Bangladesh, Australia, China, and Japan.

However nowhere in the world has the setup the United States and Canada has with southerly winds coming up from the warm and moist Gulf of Mexico ahead of powerful Pacific cold fronts moving across the Plains with a supply of cooler, drier air behind the front as it passes over the southwest deserts and Rocky Mountains. This and the typical springtime continental jet stream position over the central U.S. come together to produce the most violent thunderstorms on the planet. Nowhere else in the world experiences the supercell storms like we have in the U.S. and sometimes Canada.

[Sacdelicious]

Sacramento has a warning siren, for what I'm assuming, will go off when we flood.