MILWAUKEE — A radio communication failure caused some tornado sirens not to activate during Tuesday’s storm in Milwaukee County, but officials say the sirens themselves were not broken.
The county is already replacing its older sirens, with the project expected to be completed in early 2027. A Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management spokesperson responded to questions Friday:
What should residents know about Tuesday's failure?
OEM: "The sirens aren't broken. There was a communication issue that's been addressed, and by the time we get to 2027, when these are all done, this wouldn't even be an issue."
What went wrong with the tornado sirens?
OEM: “The problem on Tuesday was that there was some sort of radio failure that communicates with the sirens, and so the older sirens, for whatever reason, the radio signal didn't come through, so the sirens didn't go off.”
The issue was identified and fixed within about 15 minutes. The sirens themselves were not broken. EOM estimates the issue affected 20 tornado sirens, including in West Allis.
What is the replacement project?
OEM: “We are in the process of replacing all of the tornado sirens across the county. There are 58 of those total.”
20 have been fully replaced and commissioned on the new system, while the others are in different stages of replacement.
How long has the project been going on?
OEM: “It's been going on for like two to three years now, and so we're in our last year of this replacement process.”
The project is expected to be completed in early 2027.
Why is the county continuing to invest in tornado sirens?
OEM: “There are cities and municipalities across the country that are actually moving away from tornado sirens, viewing it as kind of outdated technology and leaning more into those wireless alerts and everything. But Milwaukee County and OEM, you know, recognize that there's a large portion of our population that don't have that technology readily available to them, and so rather than moving away from tornado sirens, we're leaning into it and like reinvesting into it.”
The spokesperson said access and equity are a major reason for continuing the investment, particularly for people who may not have reliable access to phones, television or radio.
Why does the replacement matter?
OEM: “That is a lot of the primary reason that this project is even happening— that we're putting time and money into updating this technology and making sure that they're working.”
The replacement is intended to update the older technology and reduce the potential for communication failures like the one that occurred Tuesday.
OEM said an exact number of affected sirens was not yet available, but confirmed the issue was not limited to West Allis.
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