Doniphan County’s outdoor warning sirens consists of eight strategically located sirens throughout the county which are used as the county’s early warning tool to alert citizens of severe weather.

While the outdoor warning system is an effective method of notifying those outdoors, the sirens should not be relied upon to provide sufficient warning indoors.  Air conditioning, thunder, wind, rain and other conditions can cause the sirens not to be heard indoors.  Sirens are also subject to lightning strikes and other equipment malfunction.  Furthermore, sirens provide no information on the type of threat or exact location of potential danger.  

Individuals, families, and businesses are encouraged to have more than one way to receive warnings and emergency information.  Warning and notifications can be received by monitoring one of the following:

• NOAA Weather Radio
• Local Media Outlets (television and radio)
• Internet
• Sky Conditions
• Outdoor Warning Sirens

The cities within Doniphan County own and maintain their sirens.  The Outdoor Warning System is tested on the first Wednesday of every month from March through September.

Doniphan County Emergency Management and Sheriff’s Dispatch have the primary responsibility to activate the sirens throughout the county.  There are three basic criteria to activate the sirens for tornadoes.

These criteria are:

• The National Weather Service issues a Tornado Warning for Doniphan County
• A county trained and certified weather spotter reports a tornado
• A tornado is reported by a local law enforcement official

All of the sirens are sounded, unless the threat is clearly confined to a an individual zone or zones.  During a tornado warning, the sirens will be sounded for three minutes, then intermittently throughout the warning period, as needed.  There is no “ALL CLEAR” siren.

For more information, contact the Emergency Management office at 785-985-2229.