Straight Talk: Tornado warning

  • Published
  • By Col. Roman L. Hund
  • 66th Air Base Group Commander
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – In this week’s Straight Talk, I’ll address a question I received about the weather warning system the base utilizes to alert members of the Hanscom community and why it wasn’t used in August during a real-world weather event.

If you have a question and are not sure where to find the answer, I encourage you to contact the Straight Talk line at 781-225-1380 or by email at Hanscom.straightalk@us.af.mil.  

Q My question concerns the tornado warning notification received via the electronic Hanscom Emergency Notification in August that was not complemented by an Emergency Notification Signal via the base giant voice system. Air Force Emergency Management policy calls for a three-to-five minute steady tone for a disaster warning; I'm curious why this didn't happen in this instance?

A Thank you for your question concerning the weather warning system for Hanscom Air Force Base. Leadership is aware that during a tornado warning in the local area this summer, the Hanscom alarm was not activated. The 15th Operational Weather Squadron is responsible for issuing weather warnings and advisories for Hanscom. Once we receive notification of a tornado warning from the weather squadron, the Command Post alerts the base community through the giant voice public address system. The giant voice system can also provide voice announcements or siren alerts depending on the situation.

The 15 OWS works closely with the local branch of the National Weather Service, which is responsible for initiating similar community notifications to the surrounding areas outside Hanscom. For the tornado weather event in August, Hanscom AFB did not receive a weather warning from the squadron. Hanscom leaders have contacted the weather squadron and, after an internal severe weather forecast review, the squadron confirmed the base should have received a warning.

During a significant weather event, the Command Post will contact the squadron.

In the United States, tornado season is generally March through August, although tornados can occur at any time of the year. In 2015, Hanscom conducted a tornado/microburst exercise and had a real-world tornado watch/warning. The installation will conduct another tornado exercise here in the coming year.

Thank you for using Straight Talk to address this important topic.