GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Thunderstorms firing up in West Michigan Tuesday morning produced damaging winds that knocked out power for thousands.
These dangerous winds caused emergency managers in several counties to activate their sirens.
Some are asking why did sirens go off when there were no reports of a tornado?
Emergency sirens are one way to alert the community of potentially life-threatening weather.
"County emergency management officials may sound sirens for severe thunderstorms that have potential to produce over 70 mph wind gusts," the National Weather Service's Grand Rapids office said. "Winds at or above 70 mph will typically bring large limbs or entire trees down, with a greater risk for damage to structures."
The NWS radar sampled winds of 70 to 80 mph in some cases.
In Ottawa County, Emergency Management Director Lou Hunt explained that sirens are used to alert the public to a dangerous situation, seek cover, and search for more information.
"I think in Ottawa County a lot of people refer to our sirens as tornado sirens. That's not really the case, or at least not the whole case, because we use them to warn of a variety of emergencies. We want folks to go inside, you know, take cover and seek more information," Hunt said. "For us in Ottawa County, whether those winds that are damaging are coming, you know, tornadic and swirling, or whether they're coming in a straight line. The end result is damage and danger. So we want to alert our public."
In Ottawa County, HAZMAT situations, radiologic emergencies and storm damage could trigger the alert system, Hunt said.
13 ON YOUR SIDE has numerous reports of trees and lines down across the region, and Consumers Energy is reporting around 150,000 customers without power.
RELATED: Tent camper at Muskegon County Pioneer Park evacuates moments before severe storms slam campground
Wind Gust Reports
This is not a complete list.
LOCATION TYPE SPEED TIME
Muskegon ASOS ASOS 71 mph 604am
Norton Shores PUBLIC 70 mph 600am
Grand Rapids (Alpine) SPOTTER 68 mph 635am
Muskegon GLERL MARINE 68 mph 558am
Stony Lake MESONET 68 mph 539am
Battle Creek ASOS ASOS 60 mph 735am
Whitehall MESONET 58 mph 554am
Coopersville MDOT RWIS 54 mph 624am
East Grand Rapids MESONET 52 mph 636am
Grand Rapids ASOS ASOS 51 mph 643am
Kalamazoo ASOS ASOS 51 mph 735am
3 N Pentwater MESONET 49 mph 459am
Wind Damage Reports
This is not a complete list.
LOCATION REPORT TIME
Whitehall Trees down 600am
West Olive Blown traffic light 645am
Grand Rapids (Alpine) Trees down 635am
Grand Rapids (US 131/W River) Trees down 630am
Grand Rapids (4 Mile/Eng Hills) Trees down 649am
Grand Rapids (4 Mile/Peach Rdg) Trees down 653am
Grand Rapids (Kalamazoo/76th) Trees down 658am
Grand Rapids (Lk Mich Dr/8th) Trees down 705am
1 N East Grand Rapids Trees down 638am
Allegan County Trees/lines down 728am
Kalamazoo County Trees/lines down 754am
4 SW Albion Tree down 824am
4 E Battle Creek Tree down 842am
SEVERE WEATHER ALERTS
You should have multiple ways to stay weather aware and receive critical weather information:
1. NOAA Weather Radio
The first is NOAA Weather Radio. We often refer to them as the “smoke detector” for severe weather, because they will automatically sound an alarm in the case of a natural disaster or severe weather.
2. Local Broadcast
There is also always your local TV station. The 13 ON YOUR SIDE Weather Department streams on-air and online during an active storm.
Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now. When you open the app, you can enable your location to be sent active alerts in your area.
You can see the latest severe weather alerts here.
3. Radio Station
Local radio stations should alert you if a storm is in your area. You can even set up devices like Alexa and Google Home to alert you with weather notifications.
4. Smartphone
Your smartphones also offer numerous ways to receive critical weather alerts. We have a 13 ON YOUR SIDE Weather App allowing you to track the storm and receive alerts.
Download our weather app from the App Store for Apple Devices or for your Android device here.
5. Nixle Alerts
- Nixle is a FREE comprehensive warning system designed to rapidly disseminate alerts and public information to various public mechanisms.
- Alerts and emergency information are received via text, email, web, and social media in real-time for localized emergencies relevant to the community.
- To register for NIXLE ALERTS
- Text your Zip Code to 888777
- Sign up and create a user profile at https://local.nixle.com/register/
6. Outdoor Sirens
Outdoor sirens are also an option, as they will go off in the threat of immediate danger, but are only meant to be heard outdoors. So, if you are inside, this should not be how you receive your severe weather alerts. Outdoor sirens can also be unreliable, difficult for those hard of hearing, and go off for other reasons beyond tornadoes.
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