The approaching weather that is anticipated as having some severe potential has a lot of people talking today. There are several questions that always come up, during or after severe weather, about the City’s tornado sirens. One common question is, “Why didn’t the sirens go off in Franklin after the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Williamson County?”
Franklin tornado sirens are independent of Brentwood’s and Williamson County’s. Dispatchers at Franklin Police Headquarters activate them when a Williamson County tornado warning has been issued, and Franklin is listed as an impacted city. Example: rotation in Nolensville, heading east, would initiate a tornado warning for Williamson County, but has no anticipated impact on Franklin – so in that case, Franklin’s sirens would not be activated.
A common concern voiced by residents is that they cannot hear Franklin tornado sirens from inside of their home. No siren is designed to warn people who are indoors. Now, they can certainly be heard by many inside of their homes or businesses, but ambient noise like wind or traffic, televisions, and noise from children can easily drown out the sound of our tornado sirens inside many structures. To ensure that you are alerted to severe weather danger, I highly recommend that you purchase and program a NOAA weather radio with S.A.M.E. technology (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/same.htm). These radios sound a loud alarm, sure to alert even the nosiest of households, and wake you and your family while you are sleeping.
FRANKLIN POLICE WILL NEVER ISSUE A NIXLE MESSAGE OR SEND A TWEET FROM @FRANKLINTNPD WHEN THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES A WEATHER WARNING. In those situations, seconds matter – and we care too much about our residents to put you in undue danger by any delay that may come in issuing those messages via mediums like email or social media.
*Monitor local TV and radio outlets for additional information on developing and severe weather*
An important note: if you hear tornado sirens sounding in your area – do not call in to our Dispatch Center to see what you should do, or if the alert is real. Our 911 Center is regularly flooded with calls like this after our sirens are activated. Those calls take dispatchers away from real emergencies they are dealing with in the midst of severe weather. If you hear tornado sirens, seek immediate shelter and follow the National Weather Service and local media for any ‘all-clear’ updates.
Lastly, if you are a Twitter user, two great local sources for real-time, even neighborhood-level weather information are @NashSevereWx and @NWSNashville. As always, I’ll be tweeting damage and road closure updates, along with photos at @FranklinTNPD.
Have a plan, know where your safe place is, and stay alert Franklin.
Sgt. Charles Warner
Franklin Police Public Affairs
