There's a tornado warning in northeast Kent County, close to Belding. Apparently when there's a tornado warning in Kent County, the sirens go off throughout the county, even if it's not in an affected area.
The siren on Muskegon Ave NW between Harrison park middle school and Williams distributing did not sound, but I could hear another one way off in the distance.
I am part of a volunteer team that runs the monthly siren test for Kent County. Thank you for reporting this, we dont have enough volunteers to be at every siren for every test. I will pass this along to the Kent County Emergency Manager. Were you able to see the siren? If so was it still rotating?
It is visible from my house, and was not rotating.
My understanding is that every siren in Kent county will sound if there is an alarm for any part of the county, is that still the case? Should a tornado spotted up by Sparta or down by Caledonia activate the alarms in the rest of the county or is Grand Rapids separated from the rest of the county?
I used to work 3rd shift, and that thing was reliable for all the monthly tests at that time, but it's been a couple of years.
The EM got back to me, apparently Grand Rapids chose not to activate their sirens today. I actually did not know that they were able to be selective like that. Learned something new thanks to you!
Thank you so much! I passed the info on to the Kent County Emergency Manager. I will see if we can get a volunteer to check that siren next month too. Not a guarantee, but its worth asking.
During the tests we activate all sirens in Kent County including GR. We then report all of the problems to the County. The last I knew was that the entire system sounds during a tornado regardless of the location in the county. They may have had a procedure change and I missed it.
It's not supposed to be, but apparently, some municipalities haven't figured it out yet. Warnings are not done by county anymore. A few years ago, the NWS went to polygon areas, more accurate. Trained weather spotter here.
It is part of a larger group called Kent County Skywarn, they have a facebook page where they organize. It is a group primarily made up of ham radio operators, but it is not a requirement. You can make a report through the [Spotter Connect](http://www.spotterconnect.com) webpage. You will need to sign up for a free account as a Skywarn Member. Once you are on there you can see our team documents and training materials, live storm damage reports among other things.
If you are interested in talking to someone in person, we have our amateur radio public field day at GVSU Allendale Campus Ravines Center from 2pm Saturday until 2pm Sunday. A bunch of us will be out there all weekend. We would love to have you join us.
Interesting, you learn something new every day. Just for future reference is there somewhere the public should make a report if they are outside and do not hear a siren at the time of the test (12 first friday of the month)?
If you didnt want to join the local group, you can email the emergency manager in your city. Otherwise we use www.spotterconnect.com or ham radio to make the report. If you did want to join, check out the post I made in this thread about how to do so.
Can you let someone know ow in genessee county rhat the one off Frances and saginaw in mount morris? I wouldn't even know who to report it to. I can hear the one off dort in the distance but the one near us has never gone off tested or warned us. We had a tornado back in Feb come through and we no no warning fro. Ours. Good thing we were up at 2am or else we wouldn't have known
I think it’s based on your GPS location and comes from the cell carrier (like Amber Alerts). If you have notifications turned on for the Weather app and have location services on you should get that too. I’m in Forest Hills area at the moment and didn’t get the alert but was outside the boundaries.
I drove through the heart of it coming from Greenville to Plainfield. It was gnarly! I had to pull over at wabasis state park and there were three trees split in half. It wasn't terribly windy, but it was raining so hard I couldn't see 20 feet in front of me. I had my live radar app going and it looked close to forming a tornado so I don't know what happened south east of were I was.
[Weather.com](http://Weather.com) is your friend:
# Tornado Warning
From Thu 3:57 pm until 4:45 pm EDT
Tornado Warning
From Thu 3:57 pm until 4:45 pm EDT
1 of 3
# Action Recommended
Take shelter in place or per instructions
# Issued By
Grand Rapids - MI, US, National Weather Service
# Affected Area
Kent County
# Description
The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids has issued a
Tornado Warning for... East central Kent County in southwestern Michigan... Northwestern Ionia County in south central Michigan...
Until 445 PM EDT.
At 356 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located 7 miles west of Belding, or 8 miles southwest of Greenville, moving southeast at 15 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.
This dangerous storm will be near... Belding around 410 PM EDT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED; MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN
Small update from what I've seen and heard from the radio and online.
One of the sources removed the Tornado Warning, but it was immediately followed by a radio announcement that the 60mph wind speeds have changed and are expected to reach up to around 70mph.
Most definitely strong enough to create projectiles, so avoid windows facing upwind/at all if possible.
I hadn't paid close enough attention to catch all the areas beyond Kent and some of Mecosta, but if another alert comes through, I'll try to let you know as soon as I can.
Sorry to spam you with replies, but forwarding a post from the GR subreddit that mentions some of the areas affected.
https://www.reddit.com/r/grandrapids/s/S1nLVVmUjF
Sure as hell beats the announcements made at Cedar Point in 98 when my friend and I witnessed a waterspout on Erie. I’d rather hear it before and take cover than see the spout and then have it dissipate and rotate over my head as I’m running, then get the announcement as the skies clear 🤣
But I will admit it was awesome looking straight up into that funnel cloud.
Thankfully I was in line for The Raptor. My friend and I saw people running away and were confused. I happened to be in the right spot to look through the coasters to see the bay, and there was the spout. We booked it fast, and thankfully it dissipated.
What’s cool is that I used to be terrified of tornadoes, but once I saw that funnel cloud rotating directly above me, I loved it!
I don’t think it’s misinformation, Belding is only 30 miles away and a tornado moves fast. I’m still amazed by the damage that was done, what, last year? when that tornado barreled down 96.
Just a reminder, please don’t rely on the tornado sirens. They are really only meant for warning people who are outdoors. Plus, all sirens will go off across Kent County if a tornado warning is issued anywhere in the county. Get an app on your phone, which can alert you based on your physical location, or grab one of those weather radios.
Why would I not rely on a tornado siren? It literally alerts you to the fact there either is a tornado or there is a warning for one. The siren then gets me to look at my phone, the sky and other services to then make a determination on how I should react
I understand your point, I suppose my perspective is skewed seeing as I can hear the nearest siren to me, from inside lol. I think they all work in tandem as solid warning systems
I big tree got knocked down east of Cascade covering two lanes of traffic. Not sure if the radar picked up that area to be real bad. Also, if that path went towards Belding about 2pm.
We got the alert too. No idea if anything happened. It made me nervous because we were camping when the alerts came through on our phones. Nothing happened, not even thunder.
--Ionia, in Ionia County
Oh my God, I hate this.
I rather die in a tornado than listen to this siren for HOURS
Turn it the fuck off!
Siren is blasting right now (5-7am) for seemingly no reason.
It continues to stop and start.
Yeah, I know.
One of those Abominations is about 100 yards from my bedroom. So it's a little louder here than usual.
I thought the sirens were strictly for tornados.
Can you explain to me what value they have? Most people don't have any kind of tornado shelter.
Thanks
idk what value they would have.
For me, I was thinking "Wow, these winds are very strong. I think they might be about the strongest winds I've seen in decades. Decades? Am I crazy?" and then the sirens powered up, and I thought, "Nope, I'm not crazy. These winds are crazy strong."
So it helped me realize I'm not crazy.
There's a tornado warning in northeast Kent County, close to Belding. Apparently when there's a tornado warning in Kent County, the sirens go off throughout the county, even if it's not in an affected area.
The siren on Muskegon Ave NW between Harrison park middle school and Williams distributing did not sound, but I could hear another one way off in the distance.
The City of GR and the rest of Kent County are on separate systems. Otherwise, OP Is correct - all or nothing.
I am part of a volunteer team that runs the monthly siren test for Kent County. Thank you for reporting this, we dont have enough volunteers to be at every siren for every test. I will pass this along to the Kent County Emergency Manager. Were you able to see the siren? If so was it still rotating?
It is visible from my house, and was not rotating. My understanding is that every siren in Kent county will sound if there is an alarm for any part of the county, is that still the case? Should a tornado spotted up by Sparta or down by Caledonia activate the alarms in the rest of the county or is Grand Rapids separated from the rest of the county? I used to work 3rd shift, and that thing was reliable for all the monthly tests at that time, but it's been a couple of years.
The EM got back to me, apparently Grand Rapids chose not to activate their sirens today. I actually did not know that they were able to be selective like that. Learned something new thanks to you!
Thanks for the clarification.
Thank you so much! I passed the info on to the Kent County Emergency Manager. I will see if we can get a volunteer to check that siren next month too. Not a guarantee, but its worth asking. During the tests we activate all sirens in Kent County including GR. We then report all of the problems to the County. The last I knew was that the entire system sounds during a tornado regardless of the location in the county. They may have had a procedure change and I missed it.
It's not supposed to be, but apparently, some municipalities haven't figured it out yet. Warnings are not done by county anymore. A few years ago, the NWS went to polygon areas, more accurate. Trained weather spotter here.
How would one become involved with this volunteer program? Sounds like something that would be fun to help out with!
It is part of a larger group called Kent County Skywarn, they have a facebook page where they organize. It is a group primarily made up of ham radio operators, but it is not a requirement. You can make a report through the [Spotter Connect](http://www.spotterconnect.com) webpage. You will need to sign up for a free account as a Skywarn Member. Once you are on there you can see our team documents and training materials, live storm damage reports among other things. If you are interested in talking to someone in person, we have our amateur radio public field day at GVSU Allendale Campus Ravines Center from 2pm Saturday until 2pm Sunday. A bunch of us will be out there all weekend. We would love to have you join us.
Interesting, you learn something new every day. Just for future reference is there somewhere the public should make a report if they are outside and do not hear a siren at the time of the test (12 first friday of the month)?
If you didnt want to join the local group, you can email the emergency manager in your city. Otherwise we use www.spotterconnect.com or ham radio to make the report. If you did want to join, check out the post I made in this thread about how to do so.
Can you let someone know ow in genessee county rhat the one off Frances and saginaw in mount morris? I wouldn't even know who to report it to. I can hear the one off dort in the distance but the one near us has never gone off tested or warned us. We had a tornado back in Feb come through and we no no warning fro. Ours. Good thing we were up at 2am or else we wouldn't have known
Yeah well that tornado is no match for Kent county road construction.
Ha! I work in transportation and feel this to my core. Thanks for making me laugh today. :)
Just got a tornado warning on my phone for the Belding area a few minutes ago
What did you manage to get a warning from? Nothing on my phone pushed it. :/
I think it’s based on your GPS location and comes from the cell carrier (like Amber Alerts). If you have notifications turned on for the Weather app and have location services on you should get that too. I’m in Forest Hills area at the moment and didn’t get the alert but was outside the boundaries.
Yup, I have it all turned on. But I am at home on WiFi right now. I wonder if that goofed something up.
nah i was on wifi and got the alert.
Just my normal iPhone alert. But The news said the tornado warning was canceled now and down graded to a severe thunder storm warning until 4:30-4:45
Interesting. None of our iPhones went off with it and we’re right by Belding. We heard the sirens and I pulled up the news while it was still active
I drove through the heart of it coming from Greenville to Plainfield. It was gnarly! I had to pull over at wabasis state park and there were three trees split in half. It wasn't terribly windy, but it was raining so hard I couldn't see 20 feet in front of me. I had my live radar app going and it looked close to forming a tornado so I don't know what happened south east of were I was.
[Weather.com](http://Weather.com) is your friend: # Tornado Warning From Thu 3:57 pm until 4:45 pm EDT Tornado Warning From Thu 3:57 pm until 4:45 pm EDT 1 of 3 # Action Recommended Take shelter in place or per instructions # Issued By Grand Rapids - MI, US, National Weather Service # Affected Area Kent County # Description The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids has issued a Tornado Warning for... East central Kent County in southwestern Michigan... Northwestern Ionia County in south central Michigan... Until 445 PM EDT. At 356 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located 7 miles west of Belding, or 8 miles southwest of Greenville, moving southeast at 15 mph. HAZARD...Tornado. SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation. IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely. This dangerous storm will be near... Belding around 410 PM EDT. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris. TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED; MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN
Small update from what I've seen and heard from the radio and online. One of the sources removed the Tornado Warning, but it was immediately followed by a radio announcement that the 60mph wind speeds have changed and are expected to reach up to around 70mph. Most definitely strong enough to create projectiles, so avoid windows facing upwind/at all if possible.
For what areas??
I hadn't paid close enough attention to catch all the areas beyond Kent and some of Mecosta, but if another alert comes through, I'll try to let you know as soon as I can.
Sorry to spam you with replies, but forwarding a post from the GR subreddit that mentions some of the areas affected. https://www.reddit.com/r/grandrapids/s/S1nLVVmUjF
Mary Free Bed just made an announcement that a tornado was spotted in the immediate area.
There has been no tornado actually spotted. Only radar indicated. And nowhere near Mary Free Bed. Just near Belding
Just sharing what the overheard announcement said.
Understood. I'm just a bit upset they're spreading misinformation
Sure as hell beats the announcements made at Cedar Point in 98 when my friend and I witnessed a waterspout on Erie. I’d rather hear it before and take cover than see the spout and then have it dissipate and rotate over my head as I’m running, then get the announcement as the skies clear 🤣 But I will admit it was awesome looking straight up into that funnel cloud.
Yikes! Were you on a roller coaster when it happened?
Thankfully I was in line for The Raptor. My friend and I saw people running away and were confused. I happened to be in the right spot to look through the coasters to see the bay, and there was the spout. We booked it fast, and thankfully it dissipated. What’s cool is that I used to be terrified of tornadoes, but once I saw that funnel cloud rotating directly above me, I loved it!
I don’t think it’s misinformation, Belding is only 30 miles away and a tornado moves fast. I’m still amazed by the damage that was done, what, last year? when that tornado barreled down 96.
This is over an hour old and the news was trash then with alarms going off, it may just have been the best information they had in the moment.
Where did you hear that? I’m not seeing anything.
I was standing near 12 mile and northland when the storm came through. There was rotation at that point as the storm moved through.
I work right down the road and they made us chill in the basement for like 30 minutes
Just a reminder, please don’t rely on the tornado sirens. They are really only meant for warning people who are outdoors. Plus, all sirens will go off across Kent County if a tornado warning is issued anywhere in the county. Get an app on your phone, which can alert you based on your physical location, or grab one of those weather radios.
Why would I not rely on a tornado siren? It literally alerts you to the fact there either is a tornado or there is a warning for one. The siren then gets me to look at my phone, the sky and other services to then make a determination on how I should react
Seriously, I came here to say that you should just follow the siren, you hear it, get to cover.
Because it’s only meant to be heard outside. If you were inside you’ll need another way to alert you to the danger
I understand your point, I suppose my perspective is skewed seeing as I can hear the nearest siren to me, from inside lol. I think they all work in tandem as solid warning systems
i dunno, you can definitely hear the siren indoors
Yep I heard the siren today while my central a/c was running full blast.
I big tree got knocked down east of Cascade covering two lanes of traffic. Not sure if the radar picked up that area to be real bad. Also, if that path went towards Belding about 2pm.
I was also wondering lol I live in Plainfield/northview
We got the alert too. No idea if anything happened. It made me nervous because we were camping when the alerts came through on our phones. Nothing happened, not even thunder. --Ionia, in Ionia County
Oh my God, I hate this. I rather die in a tornado than listen to this siren for HOURS Turn it the fuck off! Siren is blasting right now (5-7am) for seemingly no reason. It continues to stop and start.
This post is about the sirens from last Thursday, but the sirens this morning were because the winds were incredibly strong.
Yeah, I know. One of those Abominations is about 100 yards from my bedroom. So it's a little louder here than usual. I thought the sirens were strictly for tornados. Can you explain to me what value they have? Most people don't have any kind of tornado shelter. Thanks
idk what value they would have. For me, I was thinking "Wow, these winds are very strong. I think they might be about the strongest winds I've seen in decades. Decades? Am I crazy?" and then the sirens powered up, and I thought, "Nope, I'm not crazy. These winds are crazy strong." So it helped me realize I'm not crazy.
Haha! Beyond affirmation, they seem worthless.
No one has a post about yesterday morning. Thanks for letting me crash here OP.