2011 Kansas Statewide Tornado Drill

** THIS VIDEO HAS LOUD TONES - LOWER YOUR VOLUME AFTER THE SIRENS FINISH! **
This is the 2011 Statewide Tornado sequence of events on my Reecom R-1630 Weather Alert Radio, plus the town's siren test.
I wasn't going to be home when it was scheduled to happen, so I just left my camera recording, so you get the sirens around my house, plus the initial warnings, updates, and all clears from the 3 WFOs that serve my area (12 alerts total).
The camera picked up the sirens a lot better than I expected - you can actually pick out all 4 siren types around my house. I have no idea why the 16V1T sounds like it's rotating (getting louder and softer), because it is a 360 degree multi-horn.
Table of Contents
Siren Test
Topeka NWS Test Broadcast - 2:09
Hastings, NE NWS Test Broadcast - 4:13
Dodge City NWS Test Broadcast - 5:42
Wichita NWS "Severe Weather Statement" "Warning Update" - 7:00
Hastings, NE" NWS Severe Weather Statement" "Warning Update" - 7:39
Dodge City NWS "Severe Weather Statement" "Warning Update"
Hastings, NE NWS "Severe Weather Statement" "ALL CLEAR" - 9:40
Wichita NWS "Severe Weather Statement" " ALL CLEAR" - 11:52
Dodge City NWS "Severe Weather Statement" " ALL CLEAR" - 13:00
Topeka NWS "Severe Weather Statement" " ALL CLEAR" - 13:50

[@MobileTaz]

Yeah this one's in the basement, and yeah it's hooked to an FM antenna on the roof. The house is all brick, so I need an outside antenna to get any kind of radio in the house.

[@Aperture137]

I knew I heard a Thunderbolt out there, nice video.

[@MobileTaz]

The Reecom radio has four different alert tones for Test/Advisory/Watch/Warning, so you can tell right from the getgo what kind of alert it is. That was the Advisory tone, which is also used for the "Statement" alerts.

[@Hammy_Ringtail]

Dang I miss Tom's voice from this era :(

[@myrealghostbusters]

the state of wisconsin had a statewide mock drill too. i like your weather radio. i hear them going of in the background during live weather broadcasts whenever there really is sever weather.

[@firstpsychotic1912]

Hey really like the video. A lot of people don't know that air raid sirens are to warn people who are outside. Anyways I'm a volunteer with the national weather service in Ohio. I'm a trained Skyewarn spotter I was going to go storm chasing this year but not a lot happened here in Ohio. Anyways I love your profile picture and I love the movie zootopia and I'm one of your new subscribers. So take it easy and have making videos and I'll comments on the next one.

[@MobileTaz]

@matteng1997 SWS is intended for use as an 'update'. I have only observed them during actual tornado warnings. Severe Thunderstorm Warnings are not updated in this manner. But during a tornado warning it is not uncommon for there to be four or five or more SWS updates, regarding the storm track and whether the storm is intensifying or an actual tornado has been spotted.

[@BwHRcaptvjock]

Congrats on 500 subs

[@StackableGoldMC]

14:34 True statement, I've been woken up by my weather radio at night. Where in the past only thunder has woken me in a severe thunderstorm and most of the time i wake to the power being out in those storms. Would recommend you get one.

[@atheman90]

I agree. I use a Reecom R-500 and it is my best friend!

[@MobileTaz]

I've wondered that myself. For some reason they come through without the 1050Hz tone. This causes problems, because first, it begins talking before the alert siren finishes, so the first few seconds are cut off. And on my mobile scanner's WX function, it decodes the SAME header which triggers the alarm and displays the hazard on the LCD, then waits for the 1050Hz tone which triggers it to open the squelch. So if there's no tone,it just keeps sounding the siren and you never hear the broadcast

[@OwenTheMeowstic]

Are we gonna ignore the fact that this video was taken on Mario Day?

[@MobileTaz]

@jayhawk29 The Reecom and the RadioShack radios both have the same exact tone for Warning, which is why you can't tell they're both going off (On the DDC warning you can hear the RS unit go off a split second before the Reecom). For Statements, the Reecom has the slow warble, while the RS has a fast steady beep, so if you listen close, you can hear them both going off on the DDC and Wichita statements (The RS has the FIPS/SAME gate set, so it doesn't go off for the Hastings items).

[@rickyfitzgerald9529]

Thunderbolt sounds creepy in the background

[@andrewschannel4259]

Mixed in with all the other sirens... that makes it even more creepy.

[@rickyfitzgerald9529]

Andrew Carlstedt ikr but i still wish we used the thunderbolts lol but you wouldnt want to listen to this on a night when you have severe weather.

[@andrewschannel4259]

What a creepy tornado siren ambience!!!!

[@nssteampunk4865]

Almost like an Air Raid, Atomic Bomb or even worse...... End of the World Asteroid Warning!

[@timb2014]

how did you mount that to the wall? my unit has no keyhole slots.

[@IceBotYT]

so creepy sirens!! also i love the message on your reecom, MARIO EDIT: i just realised it's the date *insert sweat smile emoji here* also the reecom statement tone is very creepy too

[@IceBotYT]

thanks me from 4 years ago

[@andrewschannel4259]

Not gonna lie, the alert tone at 2:11 scared the crap out of me.

[@weatherclock6039]

That’s a lot of sirens

[@mifyyyy]

Yeah i live in Pennsylvania as well about 5 years ago there was a tornado that was about 1/8 of a mile away from my house. The funnel went over my house.

[@Noah-uy2kr]

HE got a triple header

[@WMSJacob]

I have a Midland WR100A That claimed it had EOM detect, But the weather radio i gave to my Friend had EOM. Does The Midland have EOM?

[@jaypegman]

THE REECOMS SAYING MARIO

[@jayhawk29]

The Topeka NWS doesn't cover Barton and Russel Counties. That's real odd.Even counties to the west os Russel and Barton counties are still served by the NWS in Wichita. None the less awesome video!! Do you other weather radios alert for Severe Weather Statements? I have never heard mine sound for those. Great sirens!

[@matteng1997]

@MobileTaz oh i see. So these are only sounded during Tornado Warnings?

[@SPCBrookfield]

When I was going the my FRICKIN doctors apontment There was an a alert about the slippery ice in milwaukee To watch out But then I saw some car accidents In Milwaukee

[@MobileTaz]

Unfortunately there wont be a 2012 video. I was in the same situation where I was not going to be home, so I set up the camcorder and started it recording before I left. However at some point between the time I left and the drill there was a power blip which shut off the camcorder. I have since learned that even with a fully charged battery, if the power adapter is connected but loses power, the battery does not take over, and it does not resume recording whn power is restored. Sorry about that.

[@wawawis]

When I hear the statement siren, I think of: Dream on sing for the year sing for the laughter sing for the tear ....

[@dewpoint8900]

Cool planning on getting that weather radio

[@kevinmdrt]

Awesome Video

[@garyhstorms10]

The Sentry seem out of place among the other Federal Sirens although i grew up hearing Federal Sirens all my life did the sentry replace a Thunderbolt 1003 or 2T22 that was in place before it and will the Federal Sirens be replaced with sentries soon?

[@AndrewKratochvil]

@Griffin Strong It means End of Message. The three beeps at the end of an event indicate the end of an alert. Most weather radios can detect it now.

[@MobileTaz]

Yep, its the only way to get reception period in my house! :) Even my regular FM radios on the ground floor have to be hooked to it because the brick/concrete blocks everything except near the windows!

[@JoseChavez-se4hz]

Kansas tornado warning

[@KarlDahlquist]

Is this in the basement? Is that an external antenna hooked up to it?

[@davidsmalldridge2141]

Actually Ricky, the thunderbolt shaped sirens are very rare and totally loud!!

[@HelloKittyFanMan.]

If the sirens are only blocks away, then why is this video so quiet?

[@MobileTaz]

Because it's in the basement.

[@HelloKittyFanMan.]

Ohhh, okay. But hmm, with the one that's a block a way, you'd think I'd still be able to hear it a little better than that....

[@MobileTaz]

+MaxxFordham They're not "that" quiet, they're being picked up by a camcorder's built in mic.. but even upstairs it IS way quieter than outside because most building materials are good at attenuation the frequencies sirens put out. If I'm sleeping late and they go off it's usually not enough to wake me up. Sirens are to alert people outdoors, not wake up people in their houses.

[@HelloKittyFanMan.]

Yeah, MobileTaz, I figured these were being recorded by a camcorder's microphone. That doesn't mean that's why they sound quiet. Things in a camera's own microphone can still sound plenty loud. But yeah, okay, if it's downstairs in a dungeon-type basement (not a walk-out style, where half of it isn't even buried), *and* the windows are closed, I guess that would make sense. Well then, why didn't you open one of the windows? (And by the way, what are the quote marks around "that" supposed to be for, according to you? Is it just a fake "that"? Only figurative, then? Or wouldn't we just want to leave quote marks off the "that" there so that it can really mean itself?)

[@21zachrwd]

@MobileTaz WFO nashville sends svs out for tornado and severe thunderstorms but they do not tone alert them

[@MobileTaz]

You mean the different offices (Dodge City/Wichita/Hastings)? The transmitter's (WXM35) coverage area overlaps the warning area of those three offices, so it transmits warnings from all three.

[@JoseChavez-se4hz]

MobileTaz cool video

[@MobileTaz]

... Hence why there is a warning in the very first line of the description telling people to turn their volume down because there are loud tones...

[@SPCDallas2013]

That's why I got WR-100 with me like 3 years ago.

[@MobileTaz]

@elevatorsonly Good to know! As I said around here they only do them to update Tornado Warnings.

[@DJJavierVaz]

Cool

[@allegiant804-floridaaviati5]

The Reecom's Advisory tone sounds freakin demented. Am I the only one?

[@LasVegasEASPhoto8]

Allegiant804 - Florida Aviation & Railfanning Nope me and one of my friends hate it it's so creepy

[@IceBotYT]

Nope!

[@EASProductionsGaming]

Me to

[@worldchampion1986]

So this thing turns on the neighborhood sirens???

[@jayhawk29]

@MobileTaz Ah, sorry I mean't counties to the East of Russel and Barton are in Wichita's forecast area. Very odd to say the least, but as many warnings were being sent to that transmitter, who knows lol.

[@erich84502a]

What kind of sirens? Sounds like a nuclear civil air defense

[@PixelFoxCrochet]

I heard a tornado siren

[@garyhstorms10]

What is the other weather radio heard over this one during the all clear activations

[@jayCLTeeee]

if you're talking about the one shown in this video, it was the reecom r-1630

[@ChrxsCarsAndEAS345]

My wr120 went off for a required weekly test I was listening to the weather forcast and as soon as I got out of my room it interrupted and the guy said please stand by for important message and it went off

[@Hh3artl3ssliya]

Wow

[@Honkerdown]

In reading the specs on this, it seems that there are separate volume levels for the Siren & Voice. Is this true? Can the siren volume be turned to "0" (mute) so just the voice will play?

[@MobileTaz]

Yeah, but an alert radio is pretty useless without the siren.

[@Honkerdown]

I have a 25 year old Midland that I have been using, but of course does not have SAME capabilities. When it is on "voice" alert, the radio just comes on and the 1050hz tone will wake me up. Even this drives my wife crazy, so I am looking for the same capability in a radio that does have SAME, reducing the number of alerts that will wake here up. All of the other weather radios I have researched have the siren go off every time, and at full volume. Thanks for the information, looks like this is my new unit.

[@progenitor_amborella]

Why does the update eas have the radio make a different alert tone than the warning? I’ve never heard a radio do that.

[@MobileTaz]

Theres three levels of alert.. Statement/Advisory, Watch, and Warning. Some radios make different tones for all three, some use all the same or only two different tones (Statement and Watch use the same tone, warning uses a different tone). It all depends on the radio.

[@progenitor_amborella]

MobileTaz I figured it was that simple, seems like a good idea. I haven’t been issued a statement over eas in years.

[@LasVegasEASPhoto8]

2:11 TORNADO WARNING TEST

[@johnmarvin4572]

a tornado siren never does that

[@rogerbuckner1853]

What's the weather radio model number from the other room?

[@MobileTaz]

It's a Radio Shack 12-249.. Literally one of first - if not THE first - SAME capable radios on the market that had the LCD readout to tell you about missed alerts. I bought it in 1997. Aside from the fact that it doesn't have the "extended" alerts (AMBER, 911 outage, etc) it still works fine, despite being nearly 20 years old...

[@kaitlynhanson1434]

Your friend from a small community and your friend from Marion county.

[@someguy9321]

how did you hang your reecom up?

[@MobileTaz]

3M Dual Lock Velcro. The stiff plastic stuff they use to hang toll tranponders on the windshield.

[@MobileTaz]

@jayhawk29 Yeah I know, I thought it was strange too. Technically none of the counties covered by Topeka even use the WXM35 transmitter.(BTW, the counties to the west of Russell and Barton are covered by Dodge City, not Wichita) But that's what it said, so that's what I titled it. I think they just coded it wrong or something. Yes even my oldest radio (the white RadioShack one from last years video) alerts for SWS. You can hear it (Steady Beep) in the background on the Dodge City/Wichita SWS.

[@MobileTaz]

@heatcats Awesome, let's see/hear it!

[@MobileTaz]

@matteng1997 As far as I can tell, yes. I've never noticed one come through at any other time. But that may just be how the WFO here does it, YMMV. :)

[@iluvyurbles]

hear the that T-bolt Roar

[@matteng1997]

Hey do they sound these Severe Weather Statements regularly during actual severe weather?

[@jayCLTeeee]

i know i'm late to this, but a few offices tone them. however, a majority of nws offices don't usually tone SVS's during severe weather

[@matteng1997]

@@jayCLTeeee Yep! I found a few offices that do indeed tone them. It seems most of them that do it will send them out for tornado warning updates (like Dodge City). The Paducah office is the only one that I know of that tones SVS updates for both severe Thunderstorm and tornado warnings

[@jayCLTeeee]

@@matteng1997 it's a shame that a majority of NWS offices don't tone SVS's for SVR and TOR updates, and i honestly don't know why they don't do that even my office (GSP) doesn't ever tone them for a situation like that

[@mieleguy1999]

if i heard i tornado siren i would shit my pants

[@NM_Tech]

Does this have S.A.M.E. programmability?

[@MobileTaz]

Nathan Andrew yeah, you can program up to I think it's 12 different SAME codes

[@rarleyposting5546]

The National Weather Service has issued A this is a test message 6:12

[@dewpoint8900]

It's odd how the radio freezes when an alert comes in.

[@atheman90]

It is pretty much saying, “Don’t interact with me. I am receiving an alert.”

[@jeffykintigh9731]

​@@atheman90what model is that Reecom

[@atheman90]

@@jeffykintigh9731 R-1630.

[@SimplexEAS2019]

I have that NOAA weather radio!

[@TheShortdawg1970]

The Midland WR120 does EOM after the alerts

[@AnEAShasbeenissued]

I just got the reecom R-1650

[@warningsirensofsouthdakota6486]

T-bolt 1003 I love them

[@allsupercousins267]

2:12 4:22 5:51

[@EASProductionsGaming]

You should put your reecom on speakers. It sounds cool

[@soccerk8te38]

we just had r statewide tornado drill on thursday

[@TheFeardancer]

I have a Sentry 16V1T in my town!

[@statecollegewx4060]

Nice

[@MobileTaz]

Nope, it's just a weather radio.. The sirens are activated by Emergency Management.

[@matteng1997]

@whelenvortexr4 I do have a Midland, along with this one as well

[@xaptus]

Just noticed, the weather radio date says _MAR10_

[@oh_no_no_no]

Meanwhile, in Fukushima.....

[@electricbrooke]

@TheShortdawg1970 Some of them. The very first ones did, but I don't think newer ones do. (Ref:SPCcranford1056,WeatheradioCanada)

[@destin169]

Where did you get this?Name?Prce?

[@LunaReviews]

destin Newman Reecom R1630. They usually range to about $15-$70

[@douro20]

I have a RadioShack 12-250, probably the best SAME radio RadioShack ever released.

[@kaitlynhanson1434]

I’m like someone who I hear.

[@whelenvortexr4]

@matteng1997 You should of got a Midland Weather Radio.

[@neosho53059]

I like how the noaa dude tell us what to do and what's right.... Pretty much makes us look dumb

[@MobileTaz]

Meh, that's standard for any warning. They always tell you what to do, because what is standard procedure for us - living in Tornado Alley - probably won't be so obvious to people visiting or passing through or recently moved in, who don't have it drilled into them every year. They might act on some myth or legend that they heard - like taking shelter under an overpass or opening the windows "to equalize the pressure".

[@neosho53059]

I like when it tells you to take shelter and I always say duh.. I say duh to all of them... Haha but when the sirens shoot off I always walk outside.... I live in south central Wisconsin... So it's a start of tornado alley kinda

[@desertmink2583]

Well,if the EAS is EVER activated, it's serious to everyone and not everyone knows what to do in the situation, so the EAS tells those certain people what to do and is a refresher for smarter people.

[@MobileTaz]

@garyhstorms10 I'm really not sure if the Sentry is a replacement. I've only lived here for 2 years and it's been there at least that long. That is the only Sentry siren though, and I agree it seems out of place. There are two 1003's and 5 2T22's scattered around the rest of the town. I can't really see them replacing anything at this point because they are all in great shape and sound excellent.. But who's to say the government wouldn't use it as an excuse to spend money? XD

[@carterburton]

Dang

[@lexiland2444]

Where I live we get the tornado seasnon in mined April

[@MobileTaz]

@MKIIProductions I've never used a Midland, but as far as I can tell, Midland does not make a radio that detects EOM. Believe it or not it does seem to be a rare feature that only a few brands offer. Most of the radios just leave the radio on for 5 minutes after the SAME header is decoded.

[@c00lk1d86]

The Midland WR120 does

[@jayCLTeeee]

@@c00lk1d86 along with the WR-400 as well

[@c00lk1d86]

@@jayCLTeeee Yes that too

[@AlarmoSTC]

My OOS wr120 detects EOMs

[@josh_spc2020]

cool

[@ScdanielGreeny]

Super EAS Bros.

[@QuentinRichardsthe2012brony]

What county is Wichita in?

[@MobileTaz]

+Quentin “Mod” Richards Sedgwick

[@SuperstarCandy]

Kansas

[@MobileTaz]

Uhhhhhhhhhhhh... He asked the county, not the state, you dolt. And considering the title of the video, the state is pretty obvious.

[@convectioncowboy]

+MobileTaz 😂😂😂

[@demonbich6994]

It sound like a horrific movie

[@Videokid703]

wow thats awesome how it saved your friends life

[@pittsburgheas]

octuple header :O

[@jameschristmas3206]

I don't hear the 2T22 and I can only just hear the second Thunderbolt

[@andrewschannel4259]

I can only hear the Sentry and the Thunderbolt 4 blocks from his house.

[@TheDominater12345]

r.i.p headphone users

[@wawawis]

@MKIIProductions My 2004 Midland WR300 does NOT. However, I have an Oregon Scientific WR196T from Oregon Scientific from 2000 that does. It's unfortunate that it was one of the worst weather radios ever built. The only other one I know of that uses OEM detection was a Uniden from a few years ago.

[@TheDominater12345]

i know

[@mifyyyy]

Yeah everyone was fine just a bit shocked. It did destroy a trailer though and a couple of houses and a lot of trees.

[@HesitantSignal]

I got my tornado drill recorded IN SCHOOL! See EAS #27 on my channel. BTW: Holy EAS alerts! Nice caputre. My weather radios went off 15 times today for the severe weather outbreak in michigan!