Tornado siren was activated due to brief threat, following National Weather Service warning
KILLEEN, Texas (March 3, 2023) – The City of Killeen’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (OHSEM) is thanking the community for heeding to warnings and practicing safety measures, following a tornado warning in our area on March 2 from about 7:15p.m. – 7:30p.m.
“The severe weather threat level in our area was initially very low, but always has the potential to change quickly, and according to the National Weather Service, it did,” OHSEM Director, Peter Perez, said. “We made the decision to activate the tornado warning sirens in accordance with our protocols and residents responded accordingly, which kept everyone safe.”
The National Weather Service Fort Worth office issued a tornado warning that included the city of Killeen, primarily for those on the north side of town, north of Veterans Memorial Boulevard. It was a fast-moving storm that passed within 15 minutes, although traditional thunderstorm rain and high wind gusts led up to the warning and persisted for a short time after the tornado warning expired.
As a reminder, the outdoor sirens are designed to alert citizens who are outside, as a warning to seek shelter inside and tune into local media for information. The sirens are activated for the following reasons:
- Tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service
- When trained weather spotters identify a tornado forming in or near Killeen
- When there is hail greater than 1.5’’
- In an event of a severe thunderstorm warning with winds greater than 70 miles per hour
- Another emergency as directed by the OHSEM
Killeen has 22 sirens throughout the city that either sound an alarm and are voice capable, or are not voice capable.
Citizens are always encouraged to sign up for the City’s Emergency CodeRED system for all emergency information at www.KilleenTexas.gov/OHSEM. For those who have registered but did not receive an alert last night, the CodeRED system is based off of each resident’s account address, so will only alert you if a threat is in that immediate area. Residents can also allow the system to use their phone’s location by downloading the CodeREDMobile Alert app.
We have not received reports of any widespread damage, but community members are asked to report damage at their home or businesses properties to the Texas Division of Emergency Management at https://damage.tdem.texas.gov.