MEMPHIS, TN- (WMC-TV) – Tornado sirens are intended to warn us when a twister is eminent, but sirens in your neighborhood may sound during a storm even when there's real threat to that area. For most residents in Shelby County, the sirens sound county-wide, no matter where the twister is actually headed and history shows that may cause more harm, than good.
When a tornado hit Joplin, MO, it killed 160 people.
"We know for a fact people died because they didn't pay attention because the sirens go off all the time," said Action News 5 meteorologist Dave Brown.
It was the same story when deadly tornados ripped across Alabama last April.
In most counties, including the majority of Shelby County, anytime there is a tornado warning anywhere in the county, sirens sound all over.
"So the next time the sirens blow, people pay no attention and this happens over and over again," Brown said.
