Why did sirens go off in West Michigan? The National Weather Service explains (2024)

These dangerous winds caused emergency managers in several counties to activate their sirens.

Some are asking why did sirens go off when there were no reports of a tornado?

Emergency sirens are one way to alert the community of potentially life-threatening weather.

"County emergency management officials may sound sirens for severe thunderstorms that have potential to produce over 70 mph wind gusts," the National Weather Service's Grand Rapids office said. "Winds at or above 70 mph will typically bring large limbs or entire trees down, with a greater risk for damage to structures."

The NWS radar sampled winds of 70 to 80 mph in some cases.

In Ottawa County, Emergency Management Director Lou Hunt explained that sirens are used to alert the public to a dangerous situation, seek cover, and search for more information.

"I think in Ottawa County a lot of people refer to our sirens as tornado sirens. That's not really the case, or at least not the whole case, because we use them to warn of a variety of emergencies. We want folks to go inside, you know, take cover and seek more information," Hunt said. "For us in Ottawa County, whether those winds that are damaging are coming, you know, tornadic and swirling, or whether they're coming in a straight line. The end result is damage and danger. So we want to alert our public."

In Ottawa County, HAZMAT situations, radiologic emergencies and storm damage could trigger the alert system, Hunt said.

13 ON YOUR SIDE has numerous reports of trees and lines down across the region, and Consumers Energy is reporting around 150,000 customers without power.

Wind Gust Reports

This is not a complete list.

LOCATION TYPE SPEED TIME

Muskegon ASOS ASOS 71 mph 604am

Norton Shores PUBLIC 70 mph 600am

Grand Rapids (Alpine) SPOTTER 68 mph 635am

Muskegon GLERL MARINE 68 mph 558am

Stony Lake MESONET 68 mph 539am

Battle Creek ASOS ASOS 60 mph 735am

Whitehall MESONET 58 mph 554am

Coopersville MDOT RWIS 54 mph 624am

East Grand Rapids MESONET 52 mph 636am

Grand Rapids ASOS ASOS 51 mph 643am

Kalamazoo ASOS ASOS 51 mph 735am

3 N Pentwater MESONET 49 mph 459am

Wind Damage Reports

This is not a complete list.

LOCATION REPORT TIME

Whitehall Trees down 600am

West Olive Blown traffic light 645am

Grand Rapids (Alpine) Trees down 635am

Grand Rapids (US 131/W River) Trees down 630am

Grand Rapids (4 Mile/Eng Hills) Trees down 649am

Grand Rapids (4 Mile/Peach Rdg) Trees down 653am

Grand Rapids (Kalamazoo/76th) Trees down 658am

Grand Rapids (Lk Mich Dr/8th) Trees down 705am

1 N East Grand Rapids Trees down 638am

Allegan County Trees/lines down 728am

Kalamazoo County Trees/lines down 754am

4 SW Albion Tree down 824am

4 E Battle Creek Tree down 842am

SEVERE WEATHER ALERTS

You should have multiple ways to stay weather aware and receive critical weather information:

1. NOAA Weather Radio

The first is NOAA Weather Radio. We often refer to them as the “smoke detector” for severe weather, because they will automatically sound an alarm in the case of a natural disaster or severe weather.

2. Local Broadcast

There is also always your local TV station. The 13 ON YOUR SIDE Weather Department streams on-air and online during an active storm.

3. Radio Station

Local radio stations should alert you if a storm is in your area. You can even set up devices like Alexa and Google Home to alert you with weather notifications.

4. Smartphone

Your smartphones also offer numerous ways to receive critical weather alerts. We have a 13 ON YOUR SIDE Weather App allowing you to track the storm and receive alerts.

5. Nixle Alerts

6. Outdoor Sirens

Outdoor sirens are also an option, as they will go off in the threat of immediate danger, but are only meant to be heard outdoors. So, if you are inside, this should not be how you receive your severe weather alerts. Outdoor sirens can also be unreliable, difficult for those hard of hearing, and go off for other reasons beyond tornadoes.