FARMINGTON EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 222 East Columbia Street Farmington, Missouri 63640 573.756.2324

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Understanding Tornado Warnings and Outdoor Warning Sirens Farmington, Missouri (April 18, 2025) – The City of Farmington Office of Emergency Management works closely with St. Francois County 911 to ensure residents receive accurate severe weather notifications. The significant storms that have occurred so far in 2025 have prompted some questions regarding how the notifications work and who determines when to sound sirens.

HOW DO OUTDOOR WARNING SIRENS WORK? Since 2022 Farmington’s outdoor warning sirens have been activated by a system called Rapid Warn. The system, which is in place at St. Francois County 911, monitors National Weather Service (NWS) warning polygons and uses the latitude / longitude of the polygon to know where to sound the sirens. This system has been met with some confusion by residents wondering why the sirens weren't activated when a tornado warning is issued for St Francois County.

Farmington Emergency Management Director, Josh McAtee said, “During recent storms, several residents mentioned a tornado warning was issued for St. Francois County, but the sirens didn’t go off in Farmington. The simple explanation is, just because a warning is issued for the county doesn't mean Farmington is in the path of a tornado. When we look at NWS radar and they have those storm-based warning polygons that pop up on the map in red, where the weather service has a radar indicated or spotter confirmed tornado, that is the area where the sirens are activated.”

Part of the reason sirens are no longer activated for the entire county is to prevent Siren Fatigue. This is the tendency for people in high-risk tornado areas to downplay the significance of and fail to take appropriate safety precautions when a tornado siren is activated due to the high volume of tornado false alarms that have been previously sounded.

Prior to Rapid Warn, when a tornado warning was issued a dispatcher would set off the sirens for the entire county. This is not a best practice and is not backed by the National Weather Service. Since 2022, Rapid Warn ensures people who are not in a warned area are not hearing sirens and taking shelter unnecessarily, eliminating siren fatigue.

An example of the Rapid Warn system’s method was demonstrated during a recent storm. • A tornado warning was issued for St. Francois County however, the only projected area affected was the far Northwestern portion of the county.

• Prior to the new system the sirens would have gone off everywhere in the county even though only a small portion was in the path of a possible tornado.

• With the addition of Rapid Warn the sirens were only activated in the polygon warned area outlined by the National Weather Service.

Rapid Warn also reduces any delay in the activation of outdoor warning sirens. Historically someone had to physically turn the siren on when a warning was issued, but that is not the case with this system.

It is also important to understand that outdoor warning sirens are intended to warn you of danger when you are outside. They are not designed or intended to warn you in your home. You are less likely to hear the outdoor warning sirens inside your home depending on your distance from a siren, how insulated your home is, background noise, and other factors.

Farmington residents are encouraged to have multiple means of getting weather information and warnings including:

• Smart 911

• Weather Radios

• News Apps

Residents can sign up for Smart 911 at farmington-mo.gov/smart911, and most local news stations offer free apps where you can view live radar and receive alerts. Visit the App Store or Google Play store to explore your options.

For more information, please visit farmington-mo.gov/emergency-management, or contact the Farmington Office of Emergency Management at 573.756.2324.

Media Contacts:

Josh McAtee Emergency Management Director City of Farmington 222 East Columbia Street Farmington, Missouri 63640 573.756.2324 Ext. 3617 (W) 573.366.6290 (C) [email protected]

Kristen White Communications Director City of Farmington 12 South Franklin Street Farmington, Missouri 63640 573.454.2617 Ext. 1503 [email protected]