Naperville Investigates Why Sirens Didn't Go Off Before EF-0 Tornado

NAPERVILLE, IL — Naperville is investigating why its tornado sirens didn't activate to alert residents before an EF-0 tornado hit the southwest part of the city early Saturday, according to a statement from city officials. The tornado, which hit wind speeds of 85 miles per hour, damaged at least one business, caused six gas leaks and prompted 77 service calls about trees and other debris.

City officials assert that the warning sirens are set to go off when tornado watches and warnings come from the National Weather Service (NWS). According to Naperville officials, NWS never issued a warning for the tornado, which touched down at 5:41 a.m. near the intersection of Route 59 and 95th Street and lasted for approximately six minutes.

A subsequent tornado warning was issued by NWS as a storm formed in south Naperville en route to Romeoville. Despite this warning from NWS at 5:47, Naperville's sirens did not activate.

"City staff is currently investigating why with extreme urgency," the statement said.

It continued, "The City of Naperville is committed to fully investigating the issue and remedying it as well as thoroughly reviewing internal policies and procedures around our outdoor warning systems. We also encourage all residents and business owners to investigate additional means to receive weather alerts inside their homes, such as purchasing a weather radio, downloading an app or activating Wireless Emergency Alerts on your smart phone."

On Saturday morning, several Naperville residents took to the city's official Facebook page to comment about the lack of tornado sirens. One resident wrote, "Can the City of Naperville emergency management check into why we did not have city wide tornado sirens this morning?" Another commented, "I live at 95th and Book. No sirens nor phone alert. Last year I had both. Is the City going to find out why proper alerts were not provided."

City officials commented Tuesday, "There are a lot of people commenting about the lack of outdoor weather sirens on Saturday morning. We share your concerns and are looking into it."