Why are outdoor sirens wailing? It’s annual statewide tornado drills in Kansas, Missouri

Don’t be too alarmed if you hear the wailing of outdoor warning sirens Tuesday morning in the Kansas City area — it’s just part of statewide tornado drills in Kansas and Missouri.

This week is National Severe Weather Preparedness Week and emergency management officials want people to be ready for when severe weather strikes this spring and summer. Many communities in the metro will sound the alarms at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

“It’s important for residents to be ready for tornadoes and other severe weather threats well ahead of a storm,” said Dan Robeson, Johnson County Emergency Management deputy director in a news release. “This week, we encourage everyone to participate in the statewide tornado drill, as it provides a great opportunity to review and practice severe weather sheltering plans.”

The peak tornado season is between April and June in Kansas and Missouri.

In addition to sounding the outdoor sirens, Johnson County will test its NotifyJoCo mass notification system. Those who have signed up will receive a test message in a phone call, text message or email. People can register or sign in at notifyjoco.org.

Kansas City will sound it’s outdoor sirens as part of the drill. It too has a text alert system. Sign up at kcmo.gov/alertkc. It also has safety tips to prepare for severe weather on its website.

The National Weather Service in Kansas City is urging everybody, including schools and businesses, to participate in the drill. It will announce the drill on social media. In addition to local sirens being activated, an alert will go over NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio will be activated to signal the start of the drill.

People are encouraged to shelter in place or discuss their sheltering options and plans.

The Lee’s Summit Fire Department will announce the exercise over the school and public building weather receivers and send a message to Nixle.com subscribers. Because outdoor sirens were tested last week, they will not be activated again for the drill, according to a news release.

When it comes to finding shelter, the fire department says the best place is an interior room without windows on the lowest floor of a sturdy structure. Large areas, like cafeterias or gymnasiums, should be avoided because of the chance of the roof collapsing.

Severe weather safety tips can be found on Missouri’s Stormaware.mo.gov website and Greater Kansas City Region’s Metropolitan Emergency Mangers Committee’s website.