Oak Lawn Tests New Outdoor Tornado Warning System Throughout Monday

OAK LAWN, IL — The Village of Oak Lawn will be testing its new outdoor tornado warning sirens this Monday, Jan. 27. Each siren will be tested individually for 3 to 5 seconds at different times of the day.

The new system manufactured by Braniff Communications, an emergency notification and communications solutions provider based in Crestwood, is a rotating siren system which produces a 60-degree projection of sound that rotates at 3 RPM.

Six sirens will be installed at the following locations in Oak Lawn, including:

• 102nd Street and Major Avenue
• 103rd Street. and Kostner Avenue
• 5500 W. 111th St.
• 6451 W. 93rd Place
• 91st Street and 52nd Avenue
• 93rd Place and Keeler Avenue

Residents in Oak Lawn and neighboring towns near the border can expect to hear each siren being tested individually for 3 to 5 seconds at different times of the day.

Earlier failures this past June when the American Signal Corp system installed in 2013 failed to activate during routine monthly testing were indicative that the system had reached the end of its life cycle. The old system was down for over a week and was repaired right before severe weather was predicted a few days later.

“This was not a planned expenditure for FY 2025 budget,” Oak Lawn’s emergency communications director Diana Tousignant told Patch in the fall. “Our repair techs have been able to fix the sirens, but the village felt it was time to replace them.”

The new system is a high power, directional rotating weather siren for tornado warnings issued by the National Weather Service. Unlike the old system that had voice warnings which only served to confuse residents, the Braniff system does not have voice warnings, which only served to confuse residents when it was first installed in 2013.

“[The Braniff system] is the same siren system serving over 200 communities in Illinois, including all our neighboring communities,” Tousignant said.

The cost of the new outdoor tornado warning sirens is $175,000. The village received an Illinois DCEO grant that will cover this capital expenditure. An additional $55,800 will cover related installation services.

The sound of the sirens will be the same universal, continuous wail but will rotate for optimal coverage.