Air raid / weather siren?

Was at the point today with my brother to meet Donyell Marshall at the autograph signing and as we were leaving out via the causeway, we were sitting at the light right in front of the East of Chicago buffet when we heard the loudest damn noise either of us have ever heard. after rolling down the windows and trying to figure out where this long high pitched tone was coming from, we noticed a large rotating "air raid " siren across the street from EOC. I noticed that the clock was at 12 noon and it lasted for about two minutes and was over by the time we were at the light on Rt.6. Just curious if anyone knows what this siren is for as I go to CP about 40-50 times a year and have never seen this siren or even heard of it going off. Thanks for any help.

I think most counties in Ohio test their tornado horns the first Sunday of every month at noon. Actually I thought it was Saturday, but perhaps not.

Yeah also here in Michigan. Usually the first Saturday or Sunday at noon.

Columbus, Ohio tests ours at 12 pm Wed.

pft, tests are for wimps.

Those tornado sirens would be obsolete if everyone invested $30-40 in a Weather Radio. It's an awesome investment for something that may one day save your life. It's as important as a Smoke Detector.

^ Um, while I agree a weather radio is a potentially life saving piece of equipment. I strongly disagree with you on making the sirens obsolete.

In quite a number areas of the country (including multiple areas in Ohio) those sirens double as sirens for nearby nuclear power plants.

[But some of those sirens for for the power plants are a bit more impressive in the fact they can blast recorded voice instructions across a whole freaking county -- at least near where I live.]

Oh and I think they test ours the first Wed of every month always at noon.

Speaking of sirens with Nuclear Power plants...

A little prank I pulled on my roommate on Wednesday...

I live in the shadow of Three Mile Island (we moved here in October). Half of TMI melted down in 1979, the other generator continues to run.

Wednesday at 12:15pm, a siren test would be performed, the news said so.

I prepped for the prank.

I knew he (my roommate) would be in his room with the stereo cranked. As soon as I heard the siren, I flew into his room, I yelled about the sirens (which he couldn't hear), he turned off his stereo seeing my 'panic'. I told him 'thats TMI alarms sounding!' He turned white as a ghost, I told him to turn on the news. Of course he now sees this is just a test. I start laughing. He gets pissed off. What gives? lol.

So let me get this straight . . . you deceived your roommate about a potential nuclear disaster, then when he got angry about it, you ask 'what gives?'

^^ Gee.. I can't imagine why your roommate was pissed. :)

Actually I think I would be pissed with that little prank too.

I live a little outside a 20 mile radius from our nearby nuclear plant -- so I guess I might have some chance of getting away -- sounds like you would pretty much be toast where you are.

I've been in the area all my life. -- I've only heard the sirens activated once for a real event, but that was for a meso-cyclone that DOPLAR radar detected. *** Edited 7/2/2007 5:10:24 AM UTC by skiboi007***

People don't sit around listening to a radio every time there is severe weather. Life does not stop for thunderstorms.

I could be wrong, but I thought weather radios only came on when there was an emergency. Like, you leave it plugged in on your nightstand or in the kitchen and it just sits there most of the time. But, if there is an emergency, it makes a loud noise followed by emergency information.

Edit: As seen HERE. Quoted from the description: "Stand-by function ends when alert is received, triggering 100-decibel audio alarm and visual alerts." *** Edited 7/2/2007 2:16:51 PM UTC by halltd***

Weather radios are only good if they are with you. Believe it or not people actually leave the house every now and then and don't take their weather radio with them. Tornado sirens are absolutely necessary in the midwest.

Weather radios that use an alarm to automatically alert you of severe weather are very important. They should be as common as smoke detectors. But, that doesn't take away from the value of having warning sirens. I think they are equally as important.

Erie County tests its warning sirens at noon on the first day of the month, whatever day of the week that might be.

I leave the house. I get all weather alerts sent to my phone. ;)

Weather radios are almost an essential part of hurricane preparations here in South Florida. We don't have warning sirens but, then again, we usually have a couple of days notice when the hurricane is coming.

The best thing weather radios are good for in Florida is tornadoes. Hurricanes you have lots of notice, but with no outdoor sirens, the weather radios save tons of lives when tornadoes show up. I know they helped me when I lived in Orlando back in 1998 when all those twisters ripped through the Kissimmee area in February I believe it was.

I live in Illinois (just outside of Chicago) and since we are one of the most hit states we have tornado sirens testing on the first Tuesday of the month, local emergency broadcasting tests weekly, and sometimes they throw in random test just to check them.

Usually when there is a problem the LEBS (local emergency broadcasting system) will be the first warning of anything then the sirens will come if it gets more severe and also they have a weather system on the school by where I live so it will update people with the current situation, by sending information to Weatherbug.com. BTW I suggest getting weatherbug lite for your computers you wont be sorry.

^ Leave it to a blue state to actually care about good governance. ;)

Oh sorry for liking blue. :)

Ugh, WeatherBug. *squash* You couldn't pay me enough to install that piece of crap on a computer.