WAUSEON, Ohio - Fulton County residents aren't wishing for a tornado. But they'll know when a twister is on the way.
New early warning sirens to announce an oncoming tornado - or other severe weather - are up and powered in nearly every hamlet, village, and township.
On Saturday, a simultaneous wailing to test 18 sirens will howl out across the county.
“It oughtta rattle some windows,” said Jim Meyer of Swan Creek Township.
When the last five units arrive, there will be 23 state-of-the-art sirens located across the county, according to County Administrator Vond Hall.
If a tornado is reported sweeping toward the county, a touch of a radio button at the 911 center in the office of Sheriff Darrell Merillat will activate all 23 new sirens at once, Mr. Hall said.
“Everybody should be able to hear it when they kick on those sirens,” said Mr. Meyer, a township trustee. “I'm sure they'll wake anyone in the middle of the night.”
Each town has a new siren. There may be no place in the county where a warning screech can't be heard, Mr. Hall said. The administrator said he is hoping to link the new horns with older sirens so that one radio signal will set them all off.
Each of the county's 12 townships will have one or more sirens mounted on poles at rural locations. In Swan Creek Township, for example, sirens are at the township building on County roads D and 5-1, at the corner of County roads D and 2, and at the old township hall on County Road 3 at Brailey.
“I live in that area and I like to be warned if a twister is coming. People out here tell me they're real glad to have them,” Mr. Meyer said.
Saturday's first monthly test will be a one-minute blast. An actual emergency warning will sound for three minutes.
County crews under the direction of Don Krieger have installed 18 sirens and await five more from the supplier. The sirens were purchased at no cost to townships. County commissioners paid half the cost and the other half came from a $150,000 Housing and Urban Development grant secured by U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo).
“The commissioners should be lauded for their foresight in realizing the importance of a coordinated and far-reaching system and their monetary commitment to making it happen,” Miss Kaptur said.
Tornadoes and severe windstorms are no strangers to Fulton County and northwest Ohio. Twisters left numerous buildings damaged and lifted roofs from houses and barns last spring in Williams and Fulton counties.
New sirens powered so far are in Archbold (2), Wauseon, Fayette, Delta (2), Swanton, Tedrow, Elmira-Burlington, Brailey, Pettisville, the fairgrounds, Harrison Lake State Park, and rural sites in Franklin, Royalton, Swan Creek (2), and York townships.
Harrison Lake State Park manager Jerry Van Zile had requested a siren for the park and adjacent 4-H Camp Palmer last year. It will provide storm warning to the site's many visitors, as well as to residents of Gorham and Franklin townships who live within earshot. Tornado season is generally April to July, but twisters can strike in any month, the Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness said.
First Published May 31, 2001, 12:40 p.m.