For most of the Plains and Southeastern United States, being warned of a tornado often comes down to the locally installed and maintained tornado sirens. Today, I report to you via ABCNewsOne videos on various Tornado Siren issues across the South this month.

We start in Jackson, Mississippi, where thieves stealing copper wires disabled tornado sirens there, silencing potential warnings during the tornado earlier this month. On April 8th, Greg Flynn from WAPT reports...

http://wwwa.accuweather.com/video/video_inline_launchV3.asp?video=http://qt.accuweather.com/flashvideo/vblog_ferrell/1-VPID04082008tornadosirensMS&category=&thumb=http://qt.accuweather.com/flashvideo/vblog_ferrell/1-VPID04082008tornadosirensMS.jpg&hd=false

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VIDEO SCRIPT: WHEN A TORNADO RIPPED THROUGH THE WATKINS DRIVE AREA OF JACKSON LAST WEEK, RESIDENTS DID NOT HEAR A WARNING SIREN. THE REASON... COPPER THIEVES RIPPED INTO THE FUSE BOX AND DISABLED THE SIREN. THEIR TAKE WAS LESS THAN 10 DOLLARS BUT IT PUT THOUSANDS OF LIVES IN DANGER.

Next, residents in Tulsa, Oklahoma are concerned that some areas, such as a new shopping center, are not in reach of sirens. Kim Jackson from KTUL explains on April 10th:

http://wwwa.accuweather.com/video/video_inline_launchV3.asp?video=http://qt.accuweather.com/flashvideo/vblog_ferrell/1-VPID04102008tornadosirensOK&category=&thumb=http://qt.accuweather.com/flashvideo/vblog_ferrell/1-VPID04102008tornadosirensOK.jpg&hd=false

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VIDEO SCRIPT: Tulsa hills is an exciting new shopping center, but if a tornado touched down today customers would have no warning, that's because this area of Tulsa does not have any sirens. The sirens are designed to alert people outside.. Like the ones walking into or out of these stores. Tulsa has sirens--like this one--a steady tone--to alert of tornado -- or a chemical release. This one a wailing sound.. Warns of a nuclear attack.. And high low tone.. Warns of floods. There are several new areas of town--without sirens like this one..and the city is working on a study -- to see where new sirens should go. Before Tulsa buys new sirens like this one.. for areas like this one, they have to take a few considerations.. like how much traffic is in that area and if one is really needed.

And finally out of Plano, Texas, the city decided not to sound the alarm on April 9th, even though the NWS had issued a Tornado Warning. David Schechter (WFAA) investigates...

http://wwwa.accuweather.com/video/video_inline_launchV3.asp?video=http://qt.accuweather.com/flashvideo/vblog_ferrell/1-VPID04102008tornadosirensTX&category=&thumb=http://qt.accuweather.com/flashvideo/vblog_ferrell/1-VPID04102008tornadosirensTX.jpg&hd=false

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VIDEO SCRIPT: If the sound of the storm didn't wake you up last night... this sound probably did. It's an emergency siren. A sound that was silenced in Plano. Despite a tornado warning there... the city chose not to sound the alarms. WFAA's David Schechter spoke with the city to find out why.

An update on this issue is available from WFAA; apparently the sirens did not sound last week again for a Tornado Warning, but did this week for a Thunderstorm warning.

Keep your family safe. To help mitigate problems like this that are out of your control, install your own NOAA Weather Radio to receive official warnings from The NWS [JessePedia] and back it up with a storm alerting service such as those offered on our Wireless, Email or RadarPlus services.

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