Why you might have heard a tornado siren in Kansas City on Tuesday despite clear skies
You might have been surprised Tuesday afternoon to suddenly hear a tornado siren going off in Kansas City, when the skies were clear and no tornado warning had been issued.
Turns out, it was a mistake, according to local officials’ statements.
While many counties in the Kansas City area are under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. Tuesday, warnings had only been issued for parts of Cass County and Mercer County. They have since expired.
The citywide siren was an accident, according to the Kansas City Fire Department. A dispatcher intending to sound the alarm in Cass County accidentally selected the citywide alert.
“While Cass County was effectively warned, other areas of Kansas City also received warning sirens,” a KCFD spokesperson said in a statement. “There was no threat anywhere other than Cass County.”
The National Weather Service said on Twitter, as the siren was going, off that storms had moved out of the other counties in the Kansas City area at that time.
4:22 PM: We are aware that sirens are sounding in some places across the KC Metro. Storms have moved out of Platte, Clay, Johnson (KS), Wyandotte (KS), Leavenworth (KS), and there are no warnings in effect for Jackson County. The only Tornado Warning is for southern Cass County.
— NWS Kansas City (@NWSKansasCity) May 21, 2024
The accidental siren happened two days after two EF-1 tornadoes touched down in Johnson County, causing damage and power outages.
