Sirens will wail at noon on Saturday, March 1, as Vanderbilt conducts its twice-yearly test of the system designed to warn the campus of imminent danger from tornadoes or violent storms. At the same time, Nashville/Davidson County will conduct the first test of its new early warning tornado siren system.

Nashville/Davidson County has a new early warning tornado siren system to protect people outdoors when a tornado is in the area. A total of 70 sirens located throughout Davidson County will be sounded when a tornado warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for Davidson County. The two closest siren locations to campus are in Fannie Mae Dees Park and Centennial Park. This system will be tested the first Saturday of every month at noon-unless there’s stormy weather in Davidson County. The siren will sound for only 30 seconds. The sound is an uninterrupted high-pitched tone.

The Vanderbilt siren, which delivers a “wail tone” for three minutes, is activated only during the twice-yearly tests and when campus is notified that a tornado is on course to strike the campus within 15 minutes.

It is anticipated that the sirens will be distinguishable, however the certainty of that fact will not be known until the test is conducted. Both are outdoor warning systems and are not intended to be heard inside a building.

In the event of severe/inclement weather Vanderbilt University will test its siren system on Monday, March 3 at noon and Nashville/Davidson County will test its siren the first Saturday in April.

Additional information will be published after the noon test on March 1, 2003.

Posted 2/28/03 at 10 a.m.