Page County Emergency Management Coordinator Jill Harvey spent hours tracking radar and weather alerts before storms pushed through southwest Iowa on Monday.
Forecasters warned that conditions along the Missouri-Iowa border could turn dangerous. Throughout the day, Harvey monitored updates from National Weather Service offices in Omaha, Des Moines and Kansas City as the threat escalated.
“They had been warning about this for quite a while, that yesterday could be a pretty big day, tornado-wise, storm-wise, severe weather-wise,” Harvey said. “We wanted to be prepared.”
By late afternoon, Harvey mobilized trained storm spotters from six different fire departments across the county. They stayed connected through a group message as the skies darkened over communities already dealing with two days of heavy rain.
“We had spotters out early watching — especially with the time of day, with kids finishing up school activities,” Harvey said.
As the storm intensified, winds in parts of Page County reached 84 mph. Heavy rain swept across roads while a tornado warning sounded.
“You should always have multiple ways to receive those warnings."Jill Harvey, Page County emergency management coordinator
But in Clarinda and the smaller town of Braddyville, about 11 miles south, outdoor sirens remained silent. Harvey said aging equipment caused the malfunction.
The outage highlighted a concern that emergency officials across Iowa often stress: outdoor warning sirens are intended only to alert people caught outside.
“You should always have multiple ways to receive those warnings," Harvey said. "Find a reliable, trusted source for weather information."
While helping coordinate the county’s storm response, Harvey also thought about the safety of those closest to her.
“If you don’t hear a siren, and it concerns you, then send your family to the basement or a safe location. I did that myself," she said. "My kids did go to the basement last night as I was watching the storm.”
Harvey said Page County’s 911 center is expected to relocate to a new jail facility in July, a move she believes will solve some of the technical problems.
Backup alerts when storm sirens fail
The issue also reflects a broader challenge facing communities across Iowa, where many local governments are responsible for maintaining aging siren infrastructure with limited budgets.
There is no centralized warning siren system in Iowa.
Allie Bright, public information officer for the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said cities and counties are responsible for maintaining and upgrading outdoor warning sirens, so the state doesn't collect data on usage. In rare instances, special jurisdictions, such as major airports or private industries, own and operate their own systems.
Other sporadic siren problems have been reported throughout the state due to equipment failure.
Bright said sirens should signal to take shelter immediately and seek more information. Since guidelines for sirens may vary, many agencies use them for other hazardous situations.
Bright encouraged Iowans to sign up for Alert Iowa or download the Smart911 app. Alert Iowa is county-based, and individuals can sign up with their address to receive weather alerts of their choice. Smart911 is an app that works nationwide, in which users receive notifications for severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings based on their location.
Emergency managers also walk a fine line when deciding to activate sirens. Harvey said sounding them too often can cause people to tune them out.
“My concern is if they go off too often, people stop listening to them,” Harvey said. “There are studies that show people become immune to them. They don’t listen to them if they sound off all of the time.”
Because of that concern, Page County typically tries to confirm severe weather with trained storm spotters before activating sirens, unless storms develop at night or visibility becomes too poor to safely verify conditions.
