By KSN Chief Meteorologist Dave Freeman

A true story: on a visit to my in-laws in Ohio one summer, we had an evening of thunderstorms. They did not appear to be very strong, and, heck, I was on vacation, and so didn't pay very much attention. The windows were open and it was wonderful to hear the rhythm of the rain and the gentle rumbles of thunder (and not be worried about being called into the WeatherLab...). But as the rain let up a bit, another sound emerged, faintly: a siren wailing. A chill came over me as I recognized the distinctive wail of a tornado siren. Everyone in the family room stopped dead in their tracks and looked at me--you know, the meteorologist in the room. Someone said, "What do we do?!"

Of course, without hesitating, I said, "We go to the basement!"

So, we quickly went downstairs and turned on a TV down there to find that, in fact, a Tornado Warning had been issued quite a while ago! All of us took a deep breath when the TV station showed the radar and I could reassure all that the storm was passing by well to the South of us.

But what if it hadn't missed us? What if instead of the rain stopping so we could hear the siren, the rain had gotten heavier, mixing with large hail banging on the roof? We might well have been hit by a tornado without ever knowing what was happening!

That experience reminds us of a very important point, and one of the Great Severe Weather Myths. So, with apologies to Dan Akroyd and Bill Murray, I'll play MYTHBUSTER on this issue. And, I'll type it in big letters so there is no mistaking:

TORNADO SIRENS ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE YOUR PRIMARY WARNING OF DANGEROUS WEATHER!

The sirens are actually known as "Outdoor Warning Devices." They are simply meant to alert people outdoors that they need to go indoors and find out what is happening! As you can see from my true to life story, if it is raining or hailing on your roof, especially at night when you are asleep, you will probably not hear the siren! And, we need to remember that sirens are outdoors, and they are subject to the wear and tear of the environment. Occasionally, they fail at the wrong time.

All of this, of course, leads me to invite you to visit your neighborhood Dillons store to purchase one of our KSN WeatherLab Weather Alert Radios. These great devices sit quietly until an alert is issued for your county. Then they spring to life and alert you to tune in to KSN for severe weather coverage!

Thanks to our partners at Dillons and Oregon Scientific, these great units are available at a very special discounted price that can't be beat. I sincerely hope that you will get one this spring.

We also have a great page here on ksn.com to give you more information about weather alert radios in general, and some specific tips on programming this particular unit. Visit that page to get the codes for your county and the frequency of the Weather Alert Radio station nearest you.

It is a very small investment that can pay a priceless dividend for your family!

Dave Freeman
KSN Chief Meteorologist
weatherlab@ksn.com