Posted May 31, 200916 yr I was just wondering why the severe weather sirens just kicked off after a torrential downpour with hail hit downtown an hour or two ago. That's when I got to thinking, do the weather folks not care about us downtown? I just turned on the news and saw that the sirens were to warn West Chester and Loveland. The exurban folks say that no one ever goes downtown. Would that apply to tornadoes too? Were there ever tornadoes that hit downtown? It seems like we really miss out on all the major damage (not that I'm complaining). P.S. Indie Night on Friday at the Square was awesome! It's a real shame nobody goes downtown :wink: "Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." - Warren Buffett
May 31, 200916 yr I don't think I understand the question. The sirens are for tornadoes. There were none threatening downtown. The first warning was for Clermont County only, then more recently it was expanded to Brown Co. and now a potential tornado was spotted near WestChester - hence the sirens more recently.
May 31, 200916 yr The sirens were activated for the entire region due to the tornado watch that was issued for the entire region -- as Joe said, in sequence as the storms progressively became stronger and more clustered. DT Cinci had the first round -- 30 minutes of downpour and about 15 minutes of penny sized hail. I had to run to close my windows in the building to stop water from flooding in! I'm a semi-active weather spotter, and was going to go out and check out conditions on the Little Miami trail for report, but I can't get my vehicle out of my parking garage again. I'll be biking the entire bit tomorrow, so I can check it then. I didn't know tonight was Indie night...
May 31, 200916 yr tornadoes are more common in wide open places. that's why you see them in the planes and in the exurbs which were originally cornfields
May 31, 200916 yr Tornadoes hitting downtown is more rare simply because cities take up less space than rural areas. I remember when I was in High School a lot of downtowns got hit by tornadoes...Miami, Salt Lake City, Nashville, Ft. Worth, and most recently, Atlanta.
May 31, 200916 yr July 7 1915... <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/1web.jpg"> <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/2web.jpg"> <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/3web.jpg"> <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/4web.jpg"> <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/5web.jpg"> <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/6web.jpg"> <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/7web.jpg"> <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/8web.jpg"> <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/9web.jpg"> <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/10web.jpg"> <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/11web.jpg"> <img src="http://www.shorstmeyer.com/tornadoes/1915/12web.jpg">
May 31, 200916 yr wow, now that's a lot of destruction, but those are fantastic historic photos. love the summer boaters on the men. torandos dont usually strike inside the city, i think the heat or something keeps them away, but obviously they can. even nyc had its first recorded tornado just a couple years ago in brooklyn.
May 31, 200916 yr I always heard the reason there aren't too many tornadoes near downtown areas is just a matter of chance. Extreme urban areas like Cinci's CBD make up for a tiny fraction of a percentage of actual land area in the world. The actual chances of getting a tornado on any predefined swath of land is minute. I do remember Salt Lake City, and Miami, FL having downtown tornadoes within the past 5 years or so, though. I was also out in Loveland last night (in a barn actually) and there was quite a funnel cloud, but didn't amount to anything on the ground. The rotation in the clouds was still a sight to see.
May 31, 200916 yr Photo 1: Uneeda Biscuit = Awesome. Just thinking the same thing. "Tornado threatening your home? Uneeda Biscuit!" Somebody needs to bring back that brand.
May 31, 200916 yr AWESOME photos! I think in #7 you can see Cincinnati City Hall. Not familiar with Mound St. but it seems like from that perspective all of this neighborhood was Queensgate/West end, and was eventually rased for I-75? What a shame. I also just love seeing so many people walking around. Really gives you a sense of what downtown was like. Thanks for posting them!
May 31, 200916 yr Let's bring old-fashioned hats back into style. Hell yeah, that's what I've been saying for a long time.
May 31, 200916 yr Let's bring old-fashioned hats back into style. Hell yeah, that's what I've been saying for a long time. Count me in. Three of us should be enough to start a trend.
May 31, 200916 yr Were there ever tornadoes that hit downtown? It seems like we really miss out on all the major damage (not that I'm complaining). Think of it this way. The CBD of Cincinnati takes up what, less than one square mile? A typical hell spawn township of sprawl might take up 20 or more square miles. And there's a hell of a lot of sprawlburgs, but just one Downtown Cincinnati. Downtowns are small areas, just a mere fraction of a fraction in a metropolitan area. it also may have something to do with tornado size as well as varied big city structures & city heat islands too. http://www.tornadoproject.com/myths/myths.htm
June 1, 200916 yr The sirens are for tornadoes. There were none threatening downtown. The first warning was for Clermont County only, then more recently it was expanded to Brown Co. and now a potential tornado was spotted near WestChester - hence the sirens more recently. Sirens in Hamilton County have been used for severe thunderstorm warnings with the possibility of a tornado. It can be confusing. When I first heard the sirens last night, I didn't really think there was a tornado warning until we turned the TV on. There have been numerous times when the severe weather sirens went off when there were no tornadoes in the region.
June 1, 200916 yr Yeah... It really pisses me off that Hamilton Cty turns on the sirens during a severe thunderstorm warning. They are TORNADO sirens!
June 1, 200916 yr Probably the authorities being overly-cautious. Growing up just across the river in Fort Thomas, I lived just down the street from my school, which had a tornado siren on the roof. When they tested it once a month, it was loud enough to wake the dead. But I remember some pretty horrific thunderstorms with baseball-sized hail, severe thunderstorm warnings, and tornado watches, but that thing never sounded unless there was an actual tornado warning (i.e., a funnel cloud had been spotted). If you heard that thing during a storm, you knew to get your ass into the basement ASAP. Many years later I moved to the suburbs of Chicago, and it seemed like they would sound the sirens whenever the sky turned gray. As a result, I never took them seriously. I think there's definitely a "boy who cried wolf" effect.
June 1, 200916 yr At my grade school, the siren was on the roof. Class had to stop every time they tested the things. I happened to have class right underneath it.
June 1, 200916 yr Yeah... It really pisses me off that Hamilton Cty turns on the sirens during a severe thunderstorm warning. They are TORNADO sirens! I typically assume that Uncle Vlady has let fly with the nukes
June 1, 200916 yr Severe Weather In Hamilton County, the outdoor warning sirens will sound a steady tone for five (5) minutes when a Tornado Warning or a Severe Thunderstorm Warning is issued during a Tornado Watch. Click here for a demo of the tone you would hear. http://www.hamiltoncountyohioema.org/sirens.cfm A map of all Hamilton Counties Outdoor Warning Sirens can be found here. The outdoor warning sirens in Hamilton County are tested the first Wednesday of each month at noon. For additional information on severe weather safety and preparedness, visit the Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness web site at: www.weathersafety.ohio.gov
June 1, 200916 yr Severe Weather In Hamilton County, the outdoor warning sirens will sound a steady tone for five (5) minutes when a Tornado Warning or a Severe Thunderstorm Warning is issued during a Tornado Watch. Click here for a demo of the tone you would hear. http://www.hamiltoncountyohioema.org/sirens.cfm A map of all Hamilton Counties Outdoor Warning Sirens can be found here. The outdoor warning sirens in Hamilton County are tested the first Wednesday of each month at noon. For additional information on severe weather safety and preparedness, visit the Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness web site at: www.weathersafety.ohio.gov So, the .wav file they give for an example of a tornado warning is not a steady tone as the description says. Isn't the example they gave the air raid siren? Also, the map showed a number of "voiced sirens" in NW Hamilton Cty. What exactly are those?
June 1, 200916 yr Probably the authorities being overly-cautious. Growing up just across the river in Fort Thomas, I lived just down the street from my school, which had a tornado siren on the roof. When they tested it once a month, it was loud enough to wake the dead. But I remember some pretty horrific thunderstorms with baseball-sized hail, severe thunderstorm warnings, and tornado watches, but that thing never sounded unless there was an actual tornado warning (i.e., a funnel cloud had been spotted). If you heard that thing during a storm, you knew to get your ass into the basement ASAP. Many years later I moved to the suburbs of Chicago, and it seemed like they would sound the sirens whenever the sky turned gray. As a result, I never took them seriously. I think there's definitely a "boy who cried wolf" effect. Yes, I no longer feel rushed to get a safe spot when I hear the sirens. I thought years ago they were only used for a tornado warning. I will still turn on the TV, radio, or computer when I hear them, but I don't feel as rushed. I agree it does have the "boy who cried wolf" effect and confuses people.
June 2, 200916 yr Yes, I no longer feel rushed to get a safe spot when I hear the sirens. I thought years ago they were only used for a tornado warning. I will still turn on the TV, radio, or computer when I hear them, but I don't feel as rushed. I agree it does have the "boy who cried wolf" effect and confuses people. That's actually what warning sirens are meant for; a signal to tell people outdoors to go inside and tune into their television or radio for information. A siren isn't really supposed to be taken as a "Panic now! The world is ending!" message.
June 3, 200916 yr That's actually what warning sirens are meant for; a signal to tell people outdoors to go inside and tune into their television or radio for information. A siren isn't really supposed to be taken as a "Panic now! The world is ending!" message. true, but don't you think there is a siren fatigue danger? i mean, i don't pay them much attention anymore and i've only been exposed to them for a couple years. back home they only turn on the sirens if the **** is about to hit the fan. Heck, i got one of those weather radios and the damn thing went off every 10 minutes last Saturday because of warnings in every part of the metro area except mine. Eventually i just turned it off.
June 3, 200916 yr of course if you were in any other part of the metro you would have appreciated it. so what's the problem?
June 3, 200916 yr If there was any real danger? yeah, i would have appreciated it. If i was out in Russellville or something it might have meant something. But, there really was no danger in the metro-Cincy area and there wasn't even any damage in Russellville or wherever the "tornadoes" may have hit. (tornadoes is in quotes because i'm not sure if they were certified as tornadoes or not)
June 3, 200916 yr That's actually what warning sirens are meant for; a signal to tell people outdoors to go inside and tune into their television or radio for information. A siren isn't really supposed to be taken as a "Panic now! The world is ending!" message. true, but don't you think there is a siren fatigue danger? i mean, i don't pay them much attention anymore and i've only been exposed to them for a couple years. back home they only turn on the sirens if the **** is about to hit the fan. Heck, i got one of those weather radios and the damn thing went off every 10 minutes last Saturday because of warnings in every part of the metro area except mine. Eventually i just turned it off. If you don't pay attention to them and you die. That's your fault.
June 3, 200916 yr ... Just heard the damn sirens a minute ago ... lol They always go off the first Wednesday at 12 pm each month.
June 3, 200916 yr Heck, i got one of those weather radios and the damn thing went off every 10 minutes last Saturday because of warnings in every part of the metro area except mine. Eventually i just turned it off. I don't own a weather radio myself, but is there a setting so that it only goes off if there is a warning in your county?
June 3, 200916 yr If you don't pay attention to them and you die. That's your fault. If that happens, i promise i won't complain.
June 3, 200916 yr I don't own a weather radio myself, but is there a setting so that it only goes off if there is a warning in your county? I'm sure there are some features like this, but my wife set it up and she was out of town all weekend. Last night the damn thing went off because of a flood warning in Pendleton or something. I don't know if you can set it just to go off for specific counties or if you can set it up to just ring for certain types of warnings in specific counties. I really have no idea. there seems to be a pretty big concern about weather down here. is it entirely justified?
June 3, 200916 yr Greater Cincinnati isn't directly in Tornado Alley per se, but the area has had some pretty bad encounters in the past. Didn't a tornado do lots of damage out at CVG sometime within the past few years? And given the area's topography, I think some concerns about flash flooding in low-lying areas are justified.
June 4, 200916 yr ... Just heard the damn sirens a minute ago ... lol They always go off the first Wednesday at 12 pm each month. I think it's every Wednesday.
June 4, 200916 yr Let's note that there have been 53 F5 and EF5 (EF5 is essentially equivalent to F5 since the classification system was redone in 2007) tornadoes since a tornado classification system came into being in the 1940s. F5 is, of course, the strongest tornado rating ..... so those 53 have been the fiercest of the fierce. Of those 53 twisters, the largest city, population-wise, to get hit was Cincinnati. Specifically the Sayler Park neighborhood. April 3rd, 1974, the same day as the infamous Xenia tornado. The Blue Ash twister in the pre-dawn of April 9th, 1999 was an F4. We're not tornado alley per se and the REALLY bad storms are about once-a-generation occurrences, but our region (also witness May 31st, 1985, when an F5 hit the Niles and Newton Falls area north of Youngstown) is definitely vulnerable to very, very bad storms.
June 4, 200916 yr ... Just heard the damn sirens a minute ago ... lol They always go off the first Wednesday at 12 pm each month. I think it's every Wednesday. First Wednesday of the month
Create an account or sign in to comment