Tri-State outdoor warning siren 101 and the best ways to be informed indoors

Weather sirens are kind of my thing. I didn't mean for it to happen; you write a few news stories about outdoor warning sirens and start tweeting (back when we said tweeting) about monthly siren tests — and tada! — weather sirens are your "beat."

So, the first thing I did Sunday night when the outdoor warning sirens started sounding — after heading to my basement — was post on social media, dispelling my second most hated weather siren myth: the idea that there is an "all-clear" siren.

"There is no all-clear," Nick Crossley, director of the Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency and Homeland Security Agency, tells WVXU.

My first most hated weather siren myth: that you're supposed to be able to hear the sirens indoors.

"Outdoor warning sirens are meant to be heard outdoors," Crossley says. "There's a common misconception that people should be able to hear the siren in their house or in the building or even in their cars, and because of just modern building systems and ambient noise and other things that's, if not difficult, sometimes impossible, and they are not meant to be heard inside any kind of structure."

That's true no matter where you live in the Tri-State.

In the fall of 2011, 12 local counties agreed to sound their outdoor warning sirens if there's a tornado warning or a tornado has been spotted. (Some counties also will sound the siren for emergencies such as a chemical spill.) Crossley says that agreement remains in place.

Those counties include: Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland, and Warren counties in Ohio; Boone, Campbell, Kenton and Pendleton counties in Kentucky; and Dearborn County, Indiana.

Wayne County, Indiana, also sounds its sirens for a tornado or tornado warning, but isn't party to the agreement and various agencies are in charge of sounding sirens in the various Wayne County communities.

What is different is the length of time and frequency with which the outdoor warning sirens sound. A county-by-county breakdown can be found below.

If you're outside and hear a weather siren, seek shelter immediately indoors, or move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.

Do not shelter under a bridge or overpass. You'll be much safer in a low, flat location like a ditch or depression. If no such place is available, the National Weather Service says you may remain in you vehicle with your seatbelt on. You should lower your head below window level and cover your head with your hands or a blanket.

The best answer is to have multiple ways to be alerted to severe weather.

For starters, have a good NOAA weather radio. Look for one with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) tone alert, and battery backup. This will sound a loud alert if the National Weather Service issues some kind of weather alert for your area. It also will provide forecasts and storm information. There are lots of models, and most can run on battery power, with some kind of manual backup option like a hand-crank. They also can come with flashlights, charging ports, and other handy features.

Next, sign up for emergency alerts through whatever method your county offers. Many local agencies offer some kind of Smart911 alert system which will call, text, or email you notifications. (Links by county below.)

You can also check local media, like television and radio stations, their websites and social media. Many local media and weather outlets offer mobile phone apps that will send severe weather notifications, too.

You should also have a plan that everyone in the household knows and can put into action when bad weather — or any other emergency — occurs.

Crossley's key message is that people have to pay attention.

"Severe weather is happening year round at this point," he says. "There's lots of information out there, and as people go about their daily lives — I realize they have to take care of their families, their parents, whatever, they're living their lives — but I think during these times of increased incidences that people need to pay attention to what weather is happening so that they are prepared."

Once you receive a tornado warning, you should seek shelter immediately. That means finding an interior room on the lowest level of a sturdy building, and avoid windows. If you have a basement, go there. If you're in a mobile home, a vehicle, or outdoors, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.

The National Weather Service also has a "Tornado Emergency" level, and it is the highest level of alert. It is issued when a violent tornado has touched down. It means there's a severe threat to human life and property, with catastrophic damage confirmed.

A reminder, outdoor warning sirens are meant to warn people who are outdoors. Indoors, you should have a weather radio, weather app, or other alert method in place to warn of severe weather.

Here's how often sirens are sounded in various local counties when a tornado warning is issued or a tornado is spotted.

Sirens are activated once and sound for two minutes. They are only re-activated if a new alert is issued or if officials determine another sounding is necessary. The county has the capability to sound sirens individually, but its standard protocol is to sound them all at once. The agency says it would only sound a sirens individually for something like a hazardous materials spill when people only in a specific area are affected.

Boone and Kenton counties employ a joint CodeRED Weather Warning system to notify residents in specific geographic locations of various emergencies.

You can sign up for notifications online.

Sirens are capable of being activated by individual zones, but operational policy, approved by all jurisdictions with sirens (Fairfield, Middletown, Monroe, Trenton, and West Chester), currently requires all sirens to be activated for any warning within Butler County. Sirens are activated every 10 minutes during a warning period, sounding for 3 minutes and quiet for 7 minutes.

Butler County uses a service called Nixle to send alerts, advisories, and community information.

You can sign up for notifications online.

Sirens are capable of being activated individually or by zones, but the county usually sounds them all for a warning within the county. Sirens are sounded once for 3 minutes, and only sounded again if a new warning is issued.

Campbell County EMA uses Smart911 to send emergency alerts via email, text, or voice message. There also is a Smart911 app for Apple and Android.

You can sign up for Campbell County Smart911 online.

Sirens are sounded simultaneously county-wide for approximately 2 to 3 minutes, then reactivated 10 minutes after the initial siren. The pattern continues until the warning is expired, or if a new warning is issued.

Clermont County doesn't list a local notification system, but recommends people use weather apps, follow local media, have a NOAA weather radio, and sign up for alerts from the federal government's Ready.gov program.

Sirens are sounded once, countywide, for 3 minutes for a tornado warning from NWS or if a tornado or funnel cloud is sighted by a responder. They are only reactivated for a new warning or sighting.

Dearborn County uses Smart911and Rave Alert to send notifications on potentially hazardous situations that require action, such as evacuations and severe weather.

You can sign up for Smart911 online.

Sirens are sounded for 3 minutes, followed by 7 minutes of silence, then sound again for 3 minutes followed by 7 minutes of silence. This 10-minute pattern continues until the warning expires or if a new warning is issued, at which point the sirens are activated again and the cycle begins anew.

Sirens in Hamilton County can be activated individually based on which areas are included in the warning, or if a tornado has been spotted. Sometimes, they are activated out of an abundance of caution in some some areas if, for example, one area isn't covered by a tornado warning, but the neighboring area is. This was the case Sunday night when sirens were activated Downtown because the threat in Northern Kentucky included the Ohio River.

Hamilton County uses Alert HC, based on the Smart911 platform, to send severe weather and other emergency notifications.

You can sign up for Alert HC online.

Sirens are all sounded together continuously for 5 minutes if a tornado warning is issued for Kenton County by the National Weather Service. During the warning period, if an active funnel cloud or tornado is sighted by a credible and accountable source, the outdoor warning sirens shall be activated again. In the event that a previously issued tornado warning expires, and the NWS issues another tornado warning, the warning system will be activated again in response to the new warning.

Kenton and Boone counties employ a joint CodeRED Weather Warning system to notify residents in specific geographic locations of various emergencies.

You can sign up for notifications online.

Sirens are sounded once for 2 minutes. They are only reactivated if a new warning is issued. Warren County can activate its sirens county-wide, or choose to activate them by quadrant. There are four quadrants.

Warren County recommends residents have preparedness plans and offers guidance for creating a variety of emergency plans. Warren County EMA also recommends residents follow the agency on social media for timely alerts.

Sirens in Wayne County, Indiana, are controlled by multiple communities. Wayne County EMA controls some of the sirens, including for those living in the Richmond area. The 911 center activates those sirens when the NWS issues a tornado warning for any part of the county. Other individual communities must activate their sirens on their own, and sometimes manually. In Richmond, the sirens are typically sounded for 3 minutes and will be sounded again for any new warnings. However, the pattern is not necessarily the same county-wide.

Wayne County uses a service called Nixle to send alerts from the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency and other public safety agencies in the area.

You can sign up for those alerts online.

Read more:

• Spring brings more severe weather to the Tri-State this week
• As the National Weather Service turns 154, we remember its Cincinnati roots
• This Ohio library book was returned nearly a century after its due date