This sound will normally make the women and children run for cover, and the men run outside. It's one of the most hair-raising sound that I know. Expecially hearing it at night when you can't see the sky is enough to shake the nerves of even the bravest.

It starts with cloudy skies, raging winds and an alert from the National Weather Service (NWS). This severe weather alert travels to the county under a tornado warning, and is then handled by the personnel that activate the civil defense sirens, or also know simply as tornado siren in areas that are most likely to be hit by severe weather.

The tornado sirens are activated with a signal from the NWS that indicates a tornado has been spotted or is strongly indicated on a Doppler radar and/or strong, damaging winds of 70 mph or greater are present.

Outdoor Warning Sirens also warn the public that other situation may exists. These alerts may include such events as chemical spills, or other hazardous situations. The sirens are designed to warn residents that are outside and away from a TV or radio that there is an emergency.

The safest approach is to be proactive and use all of the information available to protect yourself and your family from threatening weather. Nothing can replace common sense.