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Hays County outlines new lightning-detection system, siren grants and evacuation plans for Wimberley
Summary
Hays County emergency staff told the Wimberley City Council the county will install a PeriWeather lightning-detection station near Blue Hole, pursue grants for additional sirens along the river and expand evacuation-shelter planning and generator support to improve early warning and sheltering for residents and visitors.
WIMBERLEY — Hays County emergency officials told the Wimberley City Council on Jan. 15 that the county plans to install a PeriWeather lightning-detection system near the Blue Hole and to pursue multiple grants to boost siren coverage and shelter preparedness.
Mike Jones of Hays County said the PeriWeather station can detect lightning strikes within a configurable radius — “identifies when a lightning strikes within 10 miles of the location” — and can be set to send automated notifications to advise people to move indoors. He also said the system reports wet-bulb globe temperature readings useful to school athletic staff deciding whether outdoor practices are safe.
Why it matters: Council members flagged two long-running problems in local emergency communications — limited siren coverage along the river corridor and public complacency when phones or alerts repeatedly sound. Jones said the county is pursuing grants, including an application to the Texas General Land Office that is tied to unallocated 2015 flood funds, and expects at least some funding opportunities to move forward.
Jones said an outside consultant recommended as many as 25 sirens for the river system, but that five sirens placed in Wimberley’s portion of the corridor would materially improve local coverage. He cautioned that sirens and installation are costly and that the county will need to budget for maintenance if new equipment is added.
On alert fatigue, Jones urged residents to keep public-safety alerts enabled and stressed education for visitors and short-term rentals: “Keep that current,” he said. He described the National Weather Service’s integrated public-alert system as the primary weather-alert source and said the county does not “double down” on weather alerting to avoid overloading systems.
Evacuation and sheltering: Jones described existing arrangements with local shelters, including Barnabas and the VFW, and said the county can deploy portable generators to support interim operations. He said county staff are pursuing grants for larger, permanent backup generators to improve shelter capacity.
County staffing and programs: Jones said the county is adding staff capacity locally and plans to hire a dedicated CERT program manager, which he said will improve on-the-ground response and coordination with the city.
What’s next: Jones estimated the PeriWeather station would be operational by March 1 and said the county will continue to follow up on grant decisions and coordinate site-specific shelter and generator planning with city staff.
Quoted: Mike Jones, Hays County Emergency Services: “If we have a lightning strike, I’ll go 30 minutes. If we don’t have another lightning strike, then we’ll be safe to come back outdoors.”
