Citywide Tornado Drill Scheduled for Wednesday
Published on April 07, 2025
The annual community tornado drill will be held on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at 10:15 a.m. in Sioux Falls as part of South Dakota’s Severe Weather Awareness Week. Schools, businesses, and residents are encouraged to practice their severe weather plans during the drill. The City of Sioux Falls’ outdoor warning sirens will be activated at 10:15 a.m. during the drill.
“Preparation and practice are incredibly important as we enter another severe weather season,” said Regan Smith, the City’s Emergency Manager. “We encourage everyone, and especially those who are responsible for the most vulnerable in our community, to understand what their plans are and know how to apply them.”
For a tornado or destructive severe thunderstorm warning, a wireless emergency alert (WEA) is issued that would be sent to cell phones in the Sioux Falls area, in addition to activating the outdoor warning sirens. A WEA will not be issued for the community drill on Wednesday. WEAs are not issued for weather watches. For details on National Weather Service (NWS) watches and warnings, visit weather.gov/fsd.
The City maintains and operates an extensive system of outdoor warning sirens. The system is designed to be an early warning device primarily for people who are outside and away from an information device, like their phone, television, and/or radio. Outdoor warning sirens are not intended to be heard indoors. Multiple factors, like the hum of air conditioners, background noise, or thunder, rain, and wind, all contribute to outdoor warning sirens being difficult to hear while inside.
“We do not recommend relying solely on outdoor warning sirens to alert you to dangerous weather when you are indoors,” Smith said. “WEAs have been a great tool to add another layer of alert for the public, especially for people inside. As a backup, those of us in emergency management recommend investing in a programmable National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio. Keep it in your bedroom with a tone alert. These are also helpful if power and telecommunications functions are lost.”
What to do when the sirens activate:
The number one thing to do when you hear outdoor warning sirens or receive a severe weather WEA on your phone is to seek shelter immediately and remain there until the threat has passed.
- Go to the basement or small interior room or hallway on the lowest level possible.
- Get under something sturdy, such as a staircase.
- Stay away from windows. Do not open the windows.
- Leave a mobile home immediately and go to a substantial shelter.
- Know how long it takes to reach your designated shelter and be ready to get there before a warning is issued or the sirens sound. Tornadoes can occur with little advance warning.
In schools, malls, or other public buildings:
- Go to a pre-designated shelter. Interior hallways or bathrooms are best.
- Stay away from large windows and glassed areas.
- Avoid large rooms such as gyms and dining hall areas.
- Vehicles are not safe during a tornado.
- Your best course of action is to seek shelter in a sturdy nearby building.
- If a building is not available, you can abandon your vehicle and lie flat in a low-lying area/ditch with your hands covering your head or remain in your vehicle with your seatbelt on and head down. Neither option is safe and should only be used as a last resort.
- Go inside a building if possible. Same rules apply as with the vehicle section above. Wherever you choose to shelter, your main priority is to protect yourself from flying and falling debris.