Understanding Lubbock Sirens And Their Signals

One of the most... interesting times of the month is when the Lubbock sirens go off. In fact, it's not even the siren that is alarming, it's the swath of neighborhood dogs that start doing their rendition of Fiddler on the Roof that really does it for me.

Not to the mention the fact that Lubbock's sirens sound extraterrestrial. I thought I was about to get abducted when I first heard it from my back yard.

What does it mean when sirens go off in the city?

There actually could be multiple reasons for the city to jumpscare its citizens. According to the Lubbock city website, there are two protocols by which the sirens operate.

Standard activation protocol includes three minutes of activation followed by five minutes of silence and a further three minutes of activation. This cycle can then be repeated however many times is deemed necessary by the city.

Some reasons for the standard protocol include the following:

• A tornado warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for portions of the city limits
• Professional storm spotters have observed a tornado touching down within city limits
• It's expected that a tornado will touch down in the area soon
• A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for the city with wind speeds at least 90 mph

The other protocol for sirens in Lubbock is catastrophic activation protocol. This is marked by a cycle of five minutes on, one minute off, then five minutes on again.

The only reason for use of this protocol is when the NWS has issued a tornado warning with "CONSIDERABLE" or "CATASTROPHIC" damage threats, according to the city website.

Here are the locations of sirens throughout the city of Lubbock.

Lubbock city siren tests

The city will test the sirens daily and weekly, although we won't hear it. They will also test full activation once a month. These are the ones we hear where it's three minutes of activation every second Friday of the month between 9am and 10am.

So, the next time you think the horns of Valhalla have arrived, just remember that it's all going according to plan... unless there is a tornado nearby, in which case I implore you to seek shelter.