Synchronizing Sirens in Sauk Centre

Sauk Centre's emergency sirens go off at 1:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. Sometimes they're off by a minute or so: but it's a highly predictable event.

Today's Wednesday, but it's the third Wednesday in November. Which is why I wondered why I'd been hearing the emergency sirens, off and on, through the day.

Another series of wails went up a few minutes ago, and my curiosity got the better of me. I called City Hall and asked 'what's with the sirens?'

There's a perfectly reasonable explanation. They're "synchronizing the sirens," going around town and setting them off: one at a time. I'm not sure why they need to be synchronized, and why that's how it's done: but it seems like a reasonable explanation.

On the other hand, this sort of thing could accidentally train folks to ignore the sirens. On the other-other hand, we're a pretty smart bunch of folks: I figured out that the weather didn't look threatening; and my neighbors probably did, too.

Related posts:

• "Sauk Centre Storm July 10: No Power, No Internet, No Injuries"
  (July 12, 2011)
• "Lightning Strike and an Emergency Siren"
  (August 13, 2010)
• "Tornado Warning and Sinclair Lewis Days"
  (July 14, 2010)
• "Accident Near Wal-Mart, Sirens, and Snow in May"
  (May 5, 2010)