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No sirens sound as tornadoes rip away at Northland
By Jeffrey M. Salem
Two tornadoes that barreled through Gladstone and a portion of Kansas City North in the early morning hours of May 2 came without an official warning residents have come to rely on when severe weather hits.
As the hurricane-like winds whistled through the Northland, no warning sirens were sounded.
“There was no siren,” said Cleora Taylor, who lives in the badly hit Brookridge subdivision in Kansas City North. “By the time I heard the wind and hit the floor, it hit my window.”
Sirens alerting residents that EF 2 and EF 3 tornadoes were sweeping through the area failed to sound for simple reasons. The storm did not meet the requirements that allowed officials to trigger the sirens, said Michael Hasty, Gladstone interim director of public safety.
There are only two reasons a tornado warning siren may be triggered, Hasty said. Those are when an alert is issued by the National Weather Service or a tornado is seen by a spotter on the ground. Neither of those occurred in the moments before the tornadoes hit the Northland on May 2. In fact, the National Weather Service did not officially attribute the May 2 storm damage to multiple tornadoes until late afternoon, more than 12 hours after the storms had passed.
Hasty said it was a potential problem that may be looked at in the future.
“We will always reassess our priorities,” he said.
Gladstone Mayor Mark Revenaugh noted the delicacy of the issue. Revenaugh, speaking at a press conference after the storms ravaged the area near Northeast 76th Street and North Euclid Avenue, said sounding the sirens every time there were high winds or heavy thunderstorms could lead to residents not taking the sirens’ warning as seriously.
Other action may be taken to replace waiting for sirens to sound when a storm is brewing.
The most widely accepted method of preparedness for a damaging storm is an all-hazards weather radio. These radios can wake residents in the event of a hazardous storm and even give live updates as a storm rolls through. Weather radios go beyond just sounding when a tornado is near and still work even when electricity outages may prevent residents from hearing further information on television, for example.
Damage estimates in Gladstone and Kansas City North became clearer as cleanup initiatives wound down in the days after the storm. In Gladstone, an estimated $45 million in damage came in the form of 20 destroyed living units, 280 damaged homes and 19 damaged businesses, according to Sgt. Richard King, public information officer. One business, Cash America Pawn, 7015 N. Oak Trafficway, was totaled.
In Kansas City North, four homes were destroyed and another 117 sustained damage, according to county estimates.
Staff writer Jeffrey M. Salem can be reached at 389-6653 or jeffsalem@npgco.com.
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As the hurricane-like winds whistled through the Northland, no warning sirens were sounded.
“There was no siren,” said Cleora Taylor, who lives in the badly hit Brookridge subdivision in Kansas City North. “By the time I heard the wind and hit the floor, it hit my window.”
Sirens alerting residents that EF 2 and EF 3 tornadoes were sweeping through the area failed to sound for simple reasons. The storm did not meet the requirements that allowed officials to trigger the sirens, said Michael Hasty, Gladstone interim director of public safety.
There are only two reasons a tornado warning siren may be triggered, Hasty said. Those are when an alert is issued by the National Weather Service or a tornado is seen by a spotter on the ground. Neither of those occurred in the moments before the tornadoes hit the Northland on May 2. In fact, the National Weather Service did not officially attribute the May 2 storm damage to multiple tornadoes until late afternoon, more than 12 hours after the storms had passed.
Hasty said it was a potential problem that may be looked at in the future.
“We will always reassess our priorities,” he said.
Gladstone Mayor Mark Revenaugh noted the delicacy of the issue. Revenaugh, speaking at a press conference after the storms ravaged the area near Northeast 76th Street and North Euclid Avenue, said sounding the sirens every time there were high winds or heavy thunderstorms could lead to residents not taking the sirens’ warning as seriously.
Other action may be taken to replace waiting for sirens to sound when a storm is brewing.
The most widely accepted method of preparedness for a damaging storm is an all-hazards weather radio. These radios can wake residents in the event of a hazardous storm and even give live updates as a storm rolls through. Weather radios go beyond just sounding when a tornado is near and still work even when electricity outages may prevent residents from hearing further information on television, for example.
Damage estimates in Gladstone and Kansas City North became clearer as cleanup initiatives wound down in the days after the storm. In Gladstone, an estimated $45 million in damage came in the form of 20 destroyed living units, 280 damaged homes and 19 damaged businesses, according to Sgt. Richard King, public information officer. One business, Cash America Pawn, 7015 N. Oak Trafficway, was totaled.
In Kansas City North, four homes were destroyed and another 117 sustained damage, according to county estimates.
Staff writer Jeffrey M. Salem can be reached at 389-6653 or jeffsalem@npgco.com.