Barren Co. Emergency Management shares cause of COWS failure
BARREN COUNTY, Ky. – Barren County Emergency Management is sharing what caused multiple community outdoor warning sirens to not sound during a tornado warning during this week’s weather event.
According to emergency management, the COWS were activated using a console at the Barren-Metcalfe Emergency Communications Center.
An unknown radio frequency interference caused 28 sirens in Barren County to not activate, officials say.
Officials say they are investigating this incident and are re-programming the radios at siren sites.
They say residents should have multiple ways to receive alerts and should not rely on outdoor warning sirens when indoors. Here are the ways you can stay safe and weather aware:
- An NOAA Weather Radio
- These radios are the primary source of receiving alerts directly from the National Weather Service. Officials say this is the most reliable source of real-time notification.
- Mass notification system
- You can sign up for Barren County’s mass notification system by visiting barrencounty.ky.gov and clicking “county services.”
- Third party phone apps
- While emergency management does not recommend any apps in particular, they say some are available, and many phones can issue warnings. You can follow New 40’s forecasts and alerts by downloading the News 40 Weather App, driven by Green Ford Lincoln Mobile Service, by clicking here.
