You may have noticed that the tornado outdoor warning sirens are being installed around the City. These sirens will be sounded to alert citizens who are outdoors that a tornado may be imminent. However, they are not designed to be heard within a home or other building that has been built to today’s construction standards. 
There is a siren for each quadrant of the City. In addition to the one located on Agnes Scott’s campus, the others are located at Westchester, Oakhurst Elementary, Winnona Park Elementary, and Glennwood Academy. In the event that the National Weather Services issues a tornado warning for the Decatur area, the Decatur Police Communications Center will sound the siren for three to five minutes per issued warning. During the sounding, the siren head will rotate.
The City will conduct a test of the system at 3 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. If the weather is inclement on the first Wednesday of the month, the test will be postponed until the following day, the first Thursday of the month.
A test of the new siren system will take place once all of the sirens are installed. The installation testing schedule is still pending but as soon as we know, we’ll let you know. If you have any questions about the tornado outdoor warning sirens, please contact Assistant City Manager Tony Parker at 404-370-4102.
Seems odd that they won’t test during inclement weather…
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How many folks remember when DeKalb County tested their “emergency siren” every Wed at noon? It was mounted on the Callaway building in downtown Decatur. I’m not advocating for testing our new warning sirens weekly but it is good to know that they are working when you need them. And as long as I’m in a nostalgic mood, I really miss the chimes that Decatur Federal used to play at the end of the day.