Equipment failure is to blame for why some tornado sirens in Milwaukee County failed to go off, county officials say
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — There have been 47 tornadoes in Wisconsin so far this year, which is more than double the state's average total, according to the National Weather Service.
But on Tuesday during severe weather, some tornado sirens across Milwaukee County failed to go off.
According to officials with Milwaukee County's Office of Emergency Management, there are 58 tornado sirens in the county.
Half have been fully replaced and commissioned with a new system -- but the rest are aging and using old systems.
That caused an equipment failure during the storms, which officials said they identified and fixed within 15 minutes -- and added they don't expect systems to fail again.
However, residents like Holly Dondajeski of south Milwaukee, said the failure is concerning.
"I do have weather radios at my house so I definitely have a lot of layers to make sure that I can get a warning, my family can get a warning, and I do think sirens are a critical part of that," Dondajeski said. "I don't think it's responsible to allow such a critical part of public safety to fail like that, especially the real thing."
Officials said they're in the middle of replacing the rest of the sirens and expect the project to be finished by early 2027.
"When I got the warning on my phone and weather radio, it didn't sound the siren outside," said Steven Piper of West Allis, who is also a storm spotter for the weather service. "What is wrong with the county's emergency weather alert sirens for people who are outside?"
Officials added a reminder that residents should have multiple ways to receive alerts and to not rely solely on outdoor warning sirens.
"Ensure your smartphone is enabled to receive Wireless Emergency Alerts, tune in to a NOAA Weather Radio or local news for real-time updates, or download a weather app with push notifications enabled," a statement said.
The state's record is 62 tornadoes, set in 2005.
