The emergency warning sirens in Longview will be tested this Wednesday, May 31, at noon. Each of the city’s 20 sirens will be tested and individually observed to ensure that all sirens are working properly.
According to Fire Chief J.P. Steelman, “This past Sunday, per our normal protocol, the sirens were activated after the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for southeastern Gregg County. We’ve received reports from some residents that they heard the sirens while other residents have said they didn’t hear the sirens. Due to some electrical issues caused by power surges during the storm, we are unable to conclusively determine from our normal electronic report whether every siren sounded properly on Sunday evening. So, with the possibility of strong thunderstorms again this weekend, we felt it would be best to do an additional test of the siren system to be sure everything is functioning properly.
The sirens are normally tested on the first Wednesday of the month at noon unless there is the threat of severe weather on that day. All sirens were functioning properly during the last available test in March. The April and May tests were cancelled due to weather; however the sirens worked properly during weather-related activations on April 10 and May 11. In addition to the test on May 31, the next monthly test will occur as regularly planned on Wednesday, June 7.
Residents are encouraged to sign up for the Code Red Weather Warning and Emergency Notification System, which is a free service that sends National Weather Service and other emergency notifications for the Longview area by phone or text. Sign up online at LongviewTexas.gov/CodeRed or by calling 903-237-1170.
Fire Chief Steelman added, “Our siren system is designed to be heard while outdoors. So, we really encourage people to have another way to be notified of severe weather by signing up for CodeRed.”
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