HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — When severe weather bears down, how do you get warned?
Wednesday morning's storms led to several tornado warnings in Central Georgia, including one in Houston County.
Some people are talking about the tornado sirens, and say they were not warned about Wednesday morning's severe weather.
One viewer in Centerville posted on Facebook saying she could not hear the tornado siren and she was wide awake during the storm.
So let's Verify: Did tornado sirens sound during the overnight storms in Houston County?
Here are our sources:
Houston County EMA Director and Fire Chief Christopher Stoner said these sirens are not designed to wake you up.
"Those sirens are designed to alert people that are outdoors," Stoner said. "Not in their home or in a building and enough time to be able to seek shelter in a building. If you can hear those inside your home, that's a luxury. The farther out you go, the worse the weather conditions are."
Chief Stoner said there are 33 tornado sirens all throughout Houston County, and they are typically placed in larger more populated areas like schools, sporting venues and parks.
According to a statement from the National Weather Service, even if a siren is nearby, they are intended as an outdoor warning system. You may not be able to hear it inside your house. When you hear sirens, do not call 911 to ask what is happening; instead, listen to NOAA Weather Radio or local radio or TV for the warning information.
Roberta Nichols lives in Byron, and said her dog jumped in her bed on Wednesday morning around 2 a.m. and woke her up during the storm.
Then, around 4 a.m. her daughter Nicole Rintamaa called to check on her.
"I couldn't hear the sirens, because of all the rain and the thunder and lightning," Nichols said. "My daughter called me and said 'Mom, the sirens went off and a tornado's been spotted.' So, my dog and I just hunkered in the hallway."
Rintamaa said she enjoys watching thunderstorms, but she was not expecting the weather to be as bad as it was last night.
"It was a pleasant surprise for me," Rintamaa said. "I went out to my garage, that's how I heard the sirens. It was a nasty storm but we were really lucky."
Jackie Thomas lives in Centerville and says she got the alerts on the Code Red app, on the 13WMAZ app and through her phone's emergency alerts.
"We heard the sirens going off," Thomas said. "I even asked my neighbors if they heard them and they did. I haven't heard of anybody being hurt so that's such a blessing too."
So, we can Verify: Yes, the tornado sirens did sound in Houston County during Wednesday's storms.