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Politics & Government

Think the Weather Sirens are Blaring More Frequently? Think Again

Summer has brought some wild weather to Yorkville and Kendall County. But that doesn't mean that Kendall County's weather sirens have gone off more frequently this season.

You might think you’ve heard weather sirens blaring more often than usual this year in Kendall County. But you haven’t.

Just ask Joe Gillespie, coordinator of the Kendall County Emergency Management Agency, a division of the Kendall County Office of the Sheriff. He’ll tell you that the county has only sounded the weather sirens twice this season.

“We don’t sound them all the time,” Gillespie said. “We only sound them when we have real reason to do so.”

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The county’s Emergency Management Agency decides when the weather alarm sounds, alerting Kendall County residents to take shelter from dangerous weather. Gillespie said the county relies on both weather spotters and the National Weather Service to determine when to sound the sirens.

If trained weather spotters report that they’ve spotted a funnel cloud or tornado, the county will definitely sound its warning siren, Gillespie said. The county will do the same when the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning.

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He said there’s a big difference between a tornado and a funnel cloud. A funnel cloud is in the air, while a tornado is the same thing, only touching the ground.

There’s an equally big difference between a tornado warning and a tornado watch, Gillespie added.

He said a watch means that the conditions are right for a tornado or funnel cloud to form. The county won’t sound its weather sirens for a tornado watch.

A warning, though, means that a tornado or funnel cloud has actually been spotted. For this, the county will always sound an alarm.

Gillespie cautioned that when the county does sound the weather sirens, residents should immediately take shelter, preferably in a basement. If no basement is available, a room without windows is the next best choice.

The EMA coordinator also reminds residents that the county will not sound an all-clear signal when a tornado or funnel cloud passes. Residents should check on the Web or with their local news stations to determine when the severe weather emergency has passed, he said.

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