Let's clarify some things. (This is about sirens)

[gman 1]

Ok, so on November 17, 2013, an EF 4 tornado swept through the city of Washington, IL. The other day, my dad was telling me that people who live in Washington were saying things like "The sirens shut off in the middle of the storm, so I went outside to see why, and the tornado was right behind me!!" People also said things that were similar, and others thought that it meant it was the all clear signal. Now, my dad was a carpenter, and still is one on the side. My aunt and uncle, his brother, bought a lot that was destroyed by the tornado and built a new home on it, so that is why he hears people complain about the sirens turning off in the middle of the storm. So, I want to make sure I'm correct about what I told my dad. In response to my dad's story, I told him that the sirens only go for three minutes and then they shut off. The city of Washington, IL uses whelen sirens. Is it true that when they turn them on, they will only go for three minutes? Or was that a lie that I herd somewhere?

[carexpertandy]

I would highly doubt that. I think that from a full battery charge, they should be able to run for about 15 minutes until the batteries die, just like certain other sirens that I heard about.

[gman 1]

Then how come our she lend turned off after about 3 min

[carexpertandy]

Then how come our she lend turned off after about 3 min

Sirens are meant to be an early warning system, and typically, most places only sound their sirens for about 3 minutes, or even 5 minutes. Keeping sirens running throughout an entire storm typically isn't good for the sirens, making them possibly require more maintenance. Franklin County, Ohio has a system of Whelens, which I know they used to do several different activations during tornado warnings, but I'm not sure if they still do, and they had to pay a lot of money each year for siren maintenance.

[gman 1]

So are you saying that someone was truly there activating and then deactivating the sirens?

[Stormsetter4]

Sirens typically run for 3 minute cycles once the activation signal has been sent. If you wanted to run them longer you could send the activation signal again, or if you want to stop the sirens completely, you can send out the cancel signal.

[uncommonsense]

Whelens default to a 3 minute cycle time (adjustable to a max of 5 mins) Same thing with ANY siren on a timer. Very few places run them continuously during a storm.

[gman 1]

So, they were supposed to turn off after about three minutes?

[Brendan Ahern]

The sirens will run for 3-5 minutes on an internal timer. That is what happened in Washington. The system would have to be re activated. I'm not entirely sure what Washington has, I thought 2001's. But someone from that area would have to verify.

[gman 1]

They have a system of whelens