Crime & Safety
Pointes' Storm Siren Activation Follows Definitive Criteria
Public Safety Director encourages residents to use common sense during storms, and not wait for a siren before seeking shelter.
Public Safety is the hub for the activation of all of the weather sirens in the Pointes and Harper Woods, though individual cities can manually activate theirs if they feel there is a need. Determining when to sound the sirens is part science and part logic, according to Woods Director of Public Safety Andrew Pazuchowski.
“We have a weather radio, a feed from the National Weather Service, and we have The Weather Channel on 24/7,” said Pazuchowski. “We monitor conditions very closely. And we do have a criterion that determines whether we should activate the sirens. We are real cautious about when we activate them. We don’t want anyone to be harmed. At the same time, you don’t want to activate them for just any thunderstorm. Then (the sirens) can become ineffective because people get used to hearing them.”
The , arrived quickly and gave very little warning of what was to come. The sirens were not sounded, as the situation did not meet the criterion.
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The criterion for activation of the sirens includes:
- Tornado warning issued for the area
- Severe thunderstorm warning with estimated straight-line winds exceeding 70 mph
- Estimated straight-line winds exceeding 70 mph
- Tornado or funnel cloud sighting
Oftentimes, storms are extremely isolated and do not provide indicators for the level of what is about to happen. This is why, Pazuchowski said, that residents need to use their own good sense in determining when they should seek shelter.
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“If I’m outside and I see the sky turning all different colors, I’m not going to depend on a siren to determine if I am going to go inside,” he said.
Many of the Pointes, because of the lake-front location of their parks, can activate the sirens located in their cities to warn picnicking residents or those sitting on their boats in the harbors of an impending storm that may not necessarily meet the formal activation criteria.
There are a total of eight warning sirens situated troughout the Pointes and Harper Woods. The sirens are tested on the first Saturday of each month, 12 months a year.
Despite all of this technology and the close monitoring, summer storms can intensify suddenly due to the unstable atmosphere. So, as Pazuchowski said, using your own good sense is the best way to avoid injury or worse during the summer storm season.
