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Emergency director says Riley sirens didn’t warn residents before small tornado; officials urge multiple alert methods
Summary
Riley County emergency officials told commissioners that outdoor warning sirens did not notify residents before a June tornado in Riley because city‑owned sirens use older one‑way technology; the county advises relying on multiple alert sources and is investigating failures.
Russell Stiki, Emergency Services Director and Fire Chief, told the Riley County Commission on June 8 that outdoor sirens did not reliably warn residents before a small tornado struck the Riley area last week. Stiki said the county‑owned siren with two‑way communications had worked in recent testing, but the city‑owned sirens have not been upgraded and use older one‑way technology.
The museum of early reports and 911 calls prompted the formal warning, Stiki said, and the Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma City had not issued a tornado watch because forecasters judged the probability at under 2 percent that day. "The outdoor warning sirens are only intended to notify people that are outdoors. They aren't intended to penetrate your home and they're not intended to be heard from inside," Stiki said, adding that sirens are older technology "30 to 50 plus year old technology. It's fairly antiquated."
Stiki told commissioners his office has maintenance contractors investigating what went wrong with the city‑owned units and whether upgrades are needed. He also described the local warning sequence: a first‑hand sighting followed by multiple simultaneous 911 calls that hit dispatch and led officers to sound sirens under the county's standing operating guidelines.
Why no watch was issued, Stiki said, was a matter for the National Weather Service and the Storm Prediction Center; he summarized their assessment that atmospheric conditions did not meet the threshold for a watch and that the tornado "literally came up out of nowhere." He urged residents to rely on multiple redundant alert paths — phone alerts, local media, NOAA weather radio and other channels — rather than outdoor sirens alone.
The discussion concluded with commissioners and staff noting the incident's limited geographic footprint (roughly a half‑mile path) and concurrent local flooding that complicated response and damage assessment. County staff said they would provide updates as the maintenance review and any needed repairs or upgrades proceed.
