Why Fort Collins doesn't have tornado sirens
Jacy MarmadukeIf a tornado strikes Fort Collins, you might hear the wind roaring outside, or an automated chime from your cellphone.
You definitely won’t hear the wail of a tornado siren.
Those new to the area might be surprised to learn that Fort Collins, Larimer County and even Windsor, which had an EF3 tornado inflict significant damage on the town in 2008, don’t have tornado warning sirens.
In Fort Collins, the absence of sirens is partly because the city hasn't seen a tornado in nine years, which makes it hard to justify costly siren upkeep. But it's also because tornado sirens are dinosaurs in terms of emergency management technology.
Longmont City Council decided unanimously last month to save $500,000 by forgoing repairs for its malfunctioning tornado sirens, the latest move in a nationwide exodus from sirens.
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"We've got a lot of technology now that works a heck of a lot better than just a siren going off," including phone, text message, email, TV and radio alerts, Fort Collins emergency manager Mike Gavin said.
Those alerts were in play Monday, when a series of storms prompted the National Weather Service to issue severe thunderstorm warnings across the Front Range. As a seasonal pattern of unsettled weather returns to Colorado, alerts will persist for months to come.
That multitude of notification options is hastening the demise of the tornado siren.
When Gavin came to Fort Collins in 1980, the city only had one siren left. Officials decided against repairing it when it later broke, he said.
Siren systems can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for installation, programming, power backup and maintenance, Gavin said. Cities need to maintain property for the sirens, often to the chagrin of neighbors who'd rather not live next to the wailing poles.
And the sirens have to be high enough, loud enough and numerous enough for the entire city to hear them.
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Emergency management officials across the county agree: Why alert people to emergencies with sirens, which can prompt confusion and flood emergency dispatch centers with baffled 911 calls, when you can tell residents exactly what they need to know through a text, email, phone call, or TV or radio broadcast?
"The current systems we use are very rapid, and instead of just hearing a noise that says, 'Houston, we have a problem,' it gives you information as to what the problem is and what immediate action you have to take to save lives and property," Gavin said. "We think that’s really a better system to utilize."
The county's current emergency notification menu includes:
Everbridge alerts, an opt-in system that notifies residents of emergencies via phone, text and email.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association radio broadcasts and push notifications that reach all active cell sites in an area for emergency notifications.
Cable TV override emergency alerts.
The federal Emergency Alert System, which pushes emergency alerts to TVs, radios and a cellphone app.
Larimer County doesn't have sirens for reasons similar to those of Fort Collins, emergency management director Lori Hodges said. The county recently used an $18,000 grant to order an emergency siren for flood and fire warnings at Shaffer/Drake Campground off U.S. Highway 34, but county officials are now looking to sell it, Hodges said.
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They hope to use the grant to fund a more effective emergency signal, such as lights or an electronic sign, Hodges added.
Even if Fort Collins had tornado sirens, they'd hardly ever be used, officials said.
Seven tornadoes have struck Fort Collins since 1954, according to the Tornado History Project. Each one has ranked as one or lower on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which goes from zero to five.
An EF0 tornado means wind speeds of 65 to 85 mph with minor or no damage. EF1 tornadoes can cause moderate damage with wind speeds of 86 to 110 mph.
The last tornado Fort Collins residents witnessed was in May 2008, when an EF3 twister tore a path of destruction through Windsor and petered out as it approached the Choice City.
The mile-wide tornado, paired with baseball-sized hail, caused more than $193 million in damage. It turned skies pitch black, knocked over trees and power lines and blew roofs off buildings, leaving dozens of Windsor residents homeless and countless more without power. The storm killed one person and injured 13 more.
Windsor didn't have sirens then, and the 2008 tornado didn't inspire officials to invest in them, Windsor-Severance Fire Rescue administrative chief and spokesman Todd Vess said. He called them "Cold War technology."
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Today, Windsor uses the same emergency notification systems as Fort Collins.
Larimer County's low tornado tally — 32 since 1954 — is small compared to that of neighboring Weld County, which is the No. 1 county for tornadoes in the U.S.
About 270 tornadoes have hit Weld County since 1950, according to the Tornado History Project. About 94 percent of those storms were an EF1 or lower classification.
The reasoning for the discrepancy is the same dynamic that makes so many thunderstorms miss Fort Collins but thwack Greeley, National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin said.
"Oftentimes we'll see showers and thunderstorms develop over the mountains and foothills and move out to the plains, into Weld and eastward," Fredin said. "When they get out there they get stronger," usually because of more abundant moisture and ventilation, "and then they get more organized."
Thunderstorms often develop along the east-facing Front Range and foothills because they heat up more quickly than lower, flatter terrain, drawing in moisture and easterly winds. But those newborn storms need space and ventilation to grow into heavy rain or tornadoes, which is why Fort Collins often sees high winds and dark clouds, but little actual rainfall from eastbound storms.
City and county officials encourage people to sign up for Everbridge alerts, an online system that notifies community members of emergencies through texts, phone calls and emails. You can sign up at leta911.org.
If you'd rather not rely on your phone or computer, officials suggest buying a radio and tuning in to the local NOAA Weather Radio broadcast.