Sirens sound in Louisville and across Kentucky for statewide tornado drill

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Many people heard sirens on Wednesday morning for Kentucky's statewide tornado drill.

Warnings sounded at 10:07 a.m., as public safety leaders in Louisville monitored the test.

There are 136 sirens in total across Jefferson County. Every time those sirens go off, someone at MetroSafe manually pushes the button so they can have more control over that life-saving resource.

For the drill, MetroSafe checked with the National Weather Service to confirm whether they should move forward with the test because of the weather in our area. In this case, everyone agreed there would be no confusion.

MetroSafe has real-time technology to monitor the alarms at all times. There is a technician whose sole job is to tend to the sirens and fix whatever issue or piece needs replacing.

Coby Ashbaugh with Louisville Metro Emergency Services said there is one thing to remember. Don’t get alarmed if you’re inside and didn’t hear the siren.

"Modern houses are built with super thick walls, triple pane glass. We get calls all the time, 'I didnt hear the sirens.' Yeah, you're in the basement behind concrete under a house. You're not gonna hear them," Ashbaugh said.

Part of the test included testing a new mobile siren in storage. It’s a 30 foot tall siren on a trailer that can be deployed in case a siren goes down, but MetroSafe was more excited to use it during special outdoor events to keep people safe during events like the Kentucky Derby and Thunder Over Louisville.

It takes about an hour for all the data on the 136 sirens to come in, but MetroSafe said the test went very well.