Community Corner

Why Were Weather Sirens Activated Early Saturday?

Many of you questioned the use of sirens this past weekend. We asked village officials and DU-COMM why they were activated.

Severe weather sirens were activated this weekend in Woodridge as storm systems dumped almost 7 inches of rain in the Chicago area Saturday. 

Readers reported sirens going off at 3 a.m. Saturday in the Farmingdale village subdivision and in the early hours Saturday morning on Belmont Road near 63rd Street. 

But why the sirens were sounded was a common question on Woodridge Patch's Facebook page Saturday

Find out what's happening in Woodridgewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Wendy Johnson Filip Yes - we heard the sirens last night here in Woodridge - I think around 3 a.m. We flipped on the Weather Channel when we heard them - and there was no tornado warning. I have no clue why the sirens went off because it was after the worst of the storm had already passed.
  • Patti Yesko Cash The siren near 83rd Street and Mendingwall went off around 3:15 a.m. for about a minute. I couldn't find any info about a tornado watch or warning anywhere in the Chicago area, and the worst of the storm had already passed. Strange!
  • Jessica Green Flannery I bet I heard the same ones, Patti. They were off and on twice at about 3:15. I couldn't find any reports saying there were tornadoes in the area. In fact, looking out the window, it was pretty still.
  • Dan Murray They were sounded because of citizen reports (which were bogus) of a tornado in the area of Butterfield/83. This is why people don't pay attention when the sirens go off. Am I the only person who's read "The Boy Who Cried Wolf?"

So why were the sirens activated? And were any of those sirens an "all clear?" Patch readers asked, so we contacted DU-COMM and the village of Woodridge to find out. 

DU-COMM stands for DuPage Public Safety Communications, a consolidated police dispatch center which handles Woodridge dispatch services. 

Find out what's happening in Woodridgewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Murray's theory was backed up by the village. 

According to Jack Knight, management analyst for the village, DU-COMM activated Woodridge's severe weather sirens "due to information they received regarding possible tornado touchdowns and funnel clouds in the DuPage area," Knight wrote in an e-mail. 

"On June 22, Woodridge tornado sirens were activated by DU-COMM due to a tornado warning being issued for the DuPage County area.  The sirens were reactivated numerous times for reports of funnel clouds spotted in the area." 

Knight also wrote that "DU-COMM will also activate the weather sirens for severe weather which includes reports of high winds causing trees to be uprooted and where there is a risk to the public’s safety and shelter should be taken."

There is no all-clear signal once the weather has passed. All sirens mean that there is a risk to public safety and shelter should be taken. 

Gina Grady, deputy chief of operations for the Woodridge Police Department, . 

"They assist us," Grady said. "They can active our sirens and will activate them in severe weather or when there are tornado warnings. We can also tell them to active the sirens."

In the same past article, John Ferraro, deputy director of DU-COMM, acknowledged the decision to activate alarms—or not—can be controversial. "For everybody that questions why we did it, there are others on other side who are glad it was set off."

"Our theory is to error on the side of setting them off rather than not," Ferraro said.

The police and fire chiefs of DU-COMM member communities support that standard, he said. "They would rather deal with the nuisance of sirens going off and people taking shelter than the alternative if something is going on."


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