Have you ever heard a tornado siren blaring and looked up to see nothing but blue sky overhead? That may be because somewhere in your county or near your village or city there is severe weather occurring. No doubt you have seen severe thunderstorm or tornado warning polygons on television broadcasts or on the internet. So, just what are those polygons, and what do they mean for you?
Warning polygons represent state of the art NWS capabilities and understanding of severe weather, which enables them to specify the locations that are most likely to be affected by a severe thunderstorm, flash flood or tornado.
Woodford County EMA uses the WeatherWarn controller which provides graphical user interface which allows for activation and monitoring of your warning system manually or automatically. This system can automatically activate through the National Weather Service if a storm erupts while personnel are in route to the EMA facility.
It is our goal that only those inside the polygon should take action. As technology in outdoor sirens and personal warning devices advances, we hope to minimize your personal false alarm rate, or the number of times you are alerted for impending severe weather when it does not actually affect your location. If ever in doubt over whether you are at risk, seek additional weather information immediately.