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Summertime brings a chance for severe weather. When severe weather moves through the area, the Tomah Police and Fire Departments keep an eye on the sky, ready to signal city-wide warnings when severe storms are on the way.

“We will use the warning siren when a tornado warning or severe thunderstorm warning is issued for the area,” Fire Chief Kevin Decorah said. “Myself, or the police, are looking at the radar, and if it looks like (a storm) is going to hit Tomah, we will activate it.”

The warning siren was sounded on Saturday when a severe thunderstorm brought hail to portions of the Town of Tomah, just south of the city. The sirens were also activated on June 7 when thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flooding swept through western Wisconsin. There was one report of a tornado sighting by a civilian near Fort McCoy. While no tornadoes have struck the City of Tomah this year, the Police and Fire Departments won’t wait for one to be spotted before sending out a warning.

“We want to give people enough time,” Police Chief Wes Revels said. “Heaven forbid if something happened and we didn’t sound it. We can’t wait to see what the Sparta area gets hit with. By then, it will be too late.”

There are eight sirens throughout Tomah. Siren locations include Recreation Park, Lake Park, LaGrange Elementary School, Northside Station, City Hall, City Shops, and two at the VA Hospital. Revels and Decorah said the warning sirens are especially important for people who are outdoors when severe weather is approaching. Revels said that if an imminent storm is bad enough, police squad cars will broadcast warnings near parks and around the city. He also said that some people inside of buildings or homes may not hear the siren, and should tune into the radio or television for warnings if a possibility of severe weather exists.

“We have to err on the side of safety,” Revels said. Those sirens are for the people that are outside. People need to be prepared.”

The sirens are not used only in the event of a tornado warning, Revels said. It is used as a severe weather warning system, which includes storms with winds of 58 mph or greater, lightning, hail, and of course, tornadoes.

“It simply isn’t a tornado warning system,” Revels said. It is a severe weather warning system, and if people are in the park, we need to let them know.”

The City of Tomah missed the brunt of Saturday’s storm, and Revels said that several complaints were received by the Tomah Police Department by citizens that were upset the sirens had been activated when there were no tornado warnings in the area. Revels said that he hopes these types of calls won’t continue.

“People shouldn’t complain when we sound an early warning and there is no tornado,” Revels said. “They should be thankful that we sounded the warning. These storms are hit or miss, and people should refrain from calling the dispatch center, which already has its hands full as it is. The alarms were set off for a reason, so people should only call if it is an emergency.”

The Police Department keeps an eye on the weather 24 hours a day, and works together with the Fire Department to make sure severe weather is monitored and reported. But if severe weather does strike, Decorah said that it is best everyone has a plan.

“People should always be prepared,” Decorah said. “It is a good idea to have a plan, and keep some water, canned food and flashlights in the basement, just in case.”