By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – Repair of loose wires prompted tornado sirens to sound in Omaha around noon Wednesday.
Sirens were heard about 12:30. Wednesday wasn't a regularly scheduled siren test day. Douglas County Resource Specialist Phil Rooney says problems with the sirens were discovered after Saturday's test. "They found out that there was a loose wire between the radio and the siren parts of the connection, the wire connections were apparently loose there. And we had a repair person working on things, tightening up the wiring, and they accidentally bumped something and set off the sirens."
Douglas County usually tests its warning sirens once a month. During severe weather awareness week, the sirens sounded about half an hour late due to technical difficulties.
Douglas County did a visual inspection of the warning sirens last weekend.