The county’s emergency management agency issued a statement that night to the public to clarify some confusion that emerged from social media posts and to reiterate the importance of taking shelter when hearing such a community-wide alarm.
From the Warren County EMA:
“Credible information from multiple law enforcement units was received to Warren County Dispatch Center tonight regarding sightings of funnel clouds in the Morrow area. Dispatch immediately activated the tornado sirens and the National Weather Service was contacted to investigate the sightings and assess weather conditions in that area.
“Unfortunately, multiple social media messages from other agencies reported the sirens were malfunctioning, or activated by mistake, or it was reported there was no threat even though the sirens were alarming. We want to stress that if you hear a tornado siren, please take cover.
“There are multiple weather spotters throughout the county who are trained to watch changing weather conditions and report immediately, despite what may be showing up on radar. The mission of Warren County EMA is to prepare and protect the citizens of Warren County for all types of hazards. Activating tornado sirens based off credible, on-scene information is just one way to help protect our citizens during severe weather events.”
EARLIER
Weather sirens sounded all over Warren County Friday evening, causing high school stadiums to evacuate and people to seek shelter inside school buildings.
The Warren County Sheriff’s Office said a citizen reported seeing a rotating cloud sometime around 6:45 p.m. over Morrow in the southern part of the county. There was no touchdown, and it was not confirmed it was a funnel cloud.
“Live Doppler 7HD showed a strong thunderstorm approaching the Lebanon area, just south of Springboro shortly before 7 p.m.,” Storm Center 7 Meteorologist McCall Vrydaghs said. “This storm was producing very heavy rain, lighting and the potential of winds up to 40 mph. However, wind velocity scans did not show any indication of rotating winds.”
Funnel clouds have not been confirmed by the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
“Without seeing video it’s hard to say with any certainty if ‘scud’ or ‘funnel’ clouds were spotted in Warren County. Based on radar there were no indications of rotation with this storm,” Vrydaghs said.
News Center 7 received numerous reports from Springboro, Waynesville and Carlisle about the outdoor warning sirens sounding. High school football games delayed included the Springboro, Kettering game played at Springboro High School, and Little Miami High School’s home game against Mount Healthy.