St. Louis County expects new warning sirens to be operational as early as August

A new storm warning siren system for St. Louis County is expected to be operational as early as August.

County officials have installed 88 new sirens. But the entire system has not been installed or tested, and that won't happen until at least August. The county will keep using its old system until then — a system that dates many years.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a test after a severe storm on New Year's Eve found that of 210 existing sirens, 14 didn't work, 13 didn't rotate properly and 54 had limited range due to damaged speakers. This means 38% of the system did not work properly

Voters passed a $7.5 million sales tax in 2009 to fund the new system.

Severe Weather Warning System

With the severe weather season upon us, it is important to understand the warning siren system. The St. Louis County Office of Emergency Management is responsible for the maintenance and repair of over 200 outdoor warning sirens located throughout the County. At 11:00a.m., on the first Monday of every month, a countywide siren test is performed. If the weather is unstable on the test date, the test will be canceled.

To report a siren that does not sound during the test or that malfunctioned, contact the Office of Emergency Management at (314) 628-5400. A siren technician will follow-up on every siren complaint.