About 10:00 a.m. Tuesday — about the same time as the “first Tuesday of the month” test of the tornado sirens, some TV viewers were frightened by an onscreen message that stated: “Tornado Warning.”
The audio portion of the message announced a test, but the onscreen message did not mention a test.
Comcast claims they broadcast the test exactly as they received it from the weather service. The video screen declared a warning but the word “test” only used in audio portion of the message.
Eric Lenning, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chicago, told CBS 2 Chicago that the weather service sent out the test, which is done every year as tornado season begins.
“The product that we sent out did have several ways of indicating that it was a test product,” he told CBS 2 Chicago.
He then claimed that once the messages leaves their building, the weather service has no control over it.
In other words, if you had the sound turned down, you might have thought there was a real tornado.
In Chicago, not all tornado sirens activated, after new software was installed last month.
This week February 28 – March 5, 2016 is Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Illinois.
In tornado warning, "Get In, Get Down, Cover Up"! Don't forget pets & sirens are for OUTDOOR warnings. #severeprep pic.twitter.com/FUkb7ASDzn
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) March 2, 2016
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