During the regular test of the outdoor sirens in June, the Saline County Emergency Management office found two additional sirens that were non-operational.

The sirens located in Oakdale Park and near the intersection of Markley & Magnolia. It appears there is a small radio issue that will be resolved in the next few days.

The siren located at Cottonwood School 215 S. Phillips has been repaired and is confirmed to be working. The siren in New Cambria is in need of a new radio control box. We have worked with the City Council in New Cambria and the new radio box has been ordered and will be repaired as soon as it arrives. The siren located at the Smoky Hill Museum 211 W. Iron also is in need of a new radio control box and again the needed part has been ordered and will be repaired as soon as it arrives.

The citizens in New Cambria have set up a calling tree system to attempt to warn their residents while their outdoor siren is down. The downtown area of Salina has overlapping siren coverage from other existing sirens in the area; however they may be hard to hear with the tall buildings located downtown.

We strongly encourage residents to have multiple ways of receiving weather warnings. The outdoor warning sirens in Saline County are only sounded for tornado warnings.

Severe weather season is upon us and we all need to be prepared for severe weather at any time of the day or night. The local media outlets and All Hazards NOAA Weather Radios are your best sources for information concerning severe weather watches and warnings. Do not wait for the sirens to sound or to be your warning system at home. Sirens may not be working if the power is out and oftentimes cannot be heard indoors. Oftentimes in the heat of the spring and summer, we cannot hear outdoor sirens over running air conditioners and strong winds or hail.