I also grew up in Ohio and was used to the tornado sirens and the drills in school. We don't have one in Frederick that I am aware of but I take the kids to our basement during bigger storms. I spent many a night in my basement growing up as have seen several tornados touch down - not something I will mess with!

I grew up in ffx cty back in the 70s. They used to have sirens go off every now and again. Someone once told me they were air raid sirens! But maybe they were really tornado sirens but they have since deactivated?? The sirens never sounded in coorelation with any event so it was clearly for testing.

My hometown in Georgia has them even though tornadoes rarely come through. They're very eerie.

There are rarely tornadoes of the scale they see elsewhere in this area. I think the text message system is a better use of money.

Grew up in SE Michigan. Not tornado alley, but plenty of tornado warnings and touchdowns. Growing up, the sirens were tested every week - 1pm on Saturdays. We had tornado drills in school and a couple of warnings during which we had to take cover. Each classroom had a designated place to go in the school and we had to duck-n-cover.

Like a PP, I get alerts from MoCo and also have Weather Bug on my phone.

During the Derecho last summer, as soon as I saw the wind line, I yelled to Dh that we had to grab the kids and head to the basement. He thought I was overreacting. "It's not a tornado warning!" Well, I've seen storms like that before, so I knew, and when we saw all the damage the next day (luckily we only lost power) I told him to never question me about a storm again!

No sirens. And yes, they know to go to the tub in the basement bathroom.

I grew up in Texas, and of course we had tornado sirens. Here, I have to make do with the Capital Weather Gang.

Anonymous wrote:I live in Montgomery County, Near a golf course. The golf course has a siren for thunderstorms. I check the web or listen to the news for tornado warnings.

. I should add that I receive email alerts whenever there is severe weather and I have received alerts for tornado warnings.

Fairfax, no. Where I gre up in Ohio, yep. They even have talking ones now.

I live in Montgomery County, Near a golf course. The golf course has a siren for thunderstorms. I check the web or listen to the news for tornado warnings.

Anonymous wrote:I live in the District. Does my "town" have one? I have no idea. There are other more likely problems to contend with here (terrorist attack). Then again, an earthquake wasn't likely either. That was scary, even though it was minor.

OP here. Sorry if my colloquial word choice confuses you.

Tornadoes are probably more likely than terrorist attacks, depending on what you consider "terrorist attack" (do you include the ricin letters, for example) and "here" (downtown DC is probably more likely to have an attack rather than a tornado, not so much the wider DC area).

I live in the District. Does my "town" have one? I have no idea. There are other more likely problems to contend with here (terrorist attack). Then again, an earthquake wasn't likely either. That was scary, even though it was minor.

According to this 2011 article, only Arlington and La Plata have sirens.

http://arlington.wusa9.com/news/news/why-so-few-tornado-sirens/56801

They'll probably wait until a tornado actually hits and causes some damage. After the earthquake the other year, insurance companies put in riders about it. And now safety procedures for emergencies now include what to do if an earthquake happens.

I'm a Tornado Alley native and am curious: does your city have tornado sirens? According to their website, Fairfax County does not (and the reasons they gave are goofy http://fairfaxcountyemergency.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/participate-in-statewide-tornado-drill-march-20/). Does your area have tornado sirens?

Obviously, tornadoes are much rarer here than in the middle of the country, but these could have utility for something else, too, surely.

And does your family have a tornado plan?