When the sky turned nearly black and the wind started ripping through Columbus Tuesday morning, a lot of people had the same question: Why weren’t the tornado sirens going off?
It’s a fair question, especially now that the National Weather Service is investigating whether a tornado may have moved through parts of Central Ohio during the storm.
The answer, at least for now, comes down to something frustratingly simple: there was no tornado warning issued for Franklin County.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Madison County around 9:45 a.m., but there was no tornado warning for Franklin County when the strongest part of the storm moved through Columbus around 10:30 a.m.
And Columbus-area tornado sirens are tied to tornado warnings. Franklin County Emergency Management and Homeland Security told WOSU that the sirens aren’t activated unless a tornado warning is issued.
So even though the storm produced incredibly strong winds and widespread destruction, the system that activates the sirens wasn’t triggered.
But what about the possible tornado? That’s where things get more complicated.
The National Weather Service says it suspects a tornado may have moved from the Dublin area toward Ohio State University during the storm. The agency had not confirmed a tornado as of Tuesday evening and said it may send survey teams out to examine the damage.
That’s important because tornado warnings aren’t issued simply because a storm is producing extremely strong winds.
Tuesday’s storm absolutely was dangerous. The National Weather Service recorded an 82 mph wind gust at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, and winds caused widespread damage across the region. But a destructive thunderstorm and a tornado are two different things when it comes to the warning system.
In other words, the fact that your neighborhood looked like a tornado went through it doesn’t necessarily mean the weather service had enough information beforehand to issue a tornado warning.
So what are the sirens actually for?
This is one of those things that’s easy to misunderstand.
The outdoor warning sirens around Columbus aren’t designed to be an all-purpose “the weather is really bad” alarm. They’re primarily intended to alert people outdoors when there is an imminent tornado threat.
That means they don’t automatically sound every time there’s a severe thunderstorm warning, even when the storm is producing potentially dangerous winds.
And they’re not a replacement for the alerts on your phone, weather radio or other emergency notification systems.
The National Weather Service says there weren’t clear enough radar indications of a tornado when the storm moved through Columbus. A tornado can sometimes develop quickly, especially along a powerful line of storms, and the weather service has to make its warning decisions based on the information available at the time.
A tornado warning was issued for Madison County earlier that morning, so the weather service was actively monitoring the storm. But no warning was issued for Franklin County before the suspected tornado reached the Columbus area.
That doesn’t mean the storm wasn’t dangerous. It means the specific conditions needed for a tornado warning weren’t identified in time.
Don’t wait for a tornado siren to tell you a storm is dangerous.
If you’re getting a severe thunderstorm warning, take it seriously, especially when the warning mentions destructive winds. Stay inside, move away from windows, and avoid being outside when the strongest winds arrive.
And keep multiple ways to receive weather alerts. The National Weather Service, emergency alerts on your phone, local television, and a NOAA weather radio can all provide information that an outdoor siren can’t.
