Sirens Will Sound in Kalamazoo Every Sunday During Storm Season

UPDATE: According to Fox17 Kalamazoo Public Safety says they are changing the siren schedule based on community feedback:

Going forward, Kalamazoo Emergency Management says siren tests will be held on the first Saturday of the month at 1 p.m. That schedule will also include Portage and other areas of Kalamazoo. Officials say they heard the community's concerns and are responding in the best way possible moving forward.

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Confused by Sunday's sirens? So were we. It turns out many Kalamazoo residents were wondering the same thing.

After the deadly tornadoes that tore through Southwest Michigan just over a week ago, hearing warning sirens again understandably caused concern and confusion across the area. Here's what Kalamazoo residents should expect to hear on Sundays moving forward.

It was a quiet but overcast day in Southwest Michigan on Sunday, March 15. After the catastrophic severe weather outbreak the weekend prior, many residents were already on edge and keeping a close eye on the forecast.

Once again, Mother Nature was ready to stir things up. Meteorologists warned we could see high wind gusts between 50-60 mph, with strong thunderstorms expected overnight. It was quite literally the calm before the storm!

Then, suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, the eerie drone of warning sirens began to sound. If you grew up in Michigan, you probably know the exact thought process that follows. Do you hear that? Is there a tornado warning? Wait… what day is it? Oh right, it must be a test.

Except, this wasn't the first Saturday of the month! I'm sure, like me, your mind probably started running through the possibilities: Was it a routine test? An actual severe weather warning? 

Given everything going on in the world right now, my brain even briefly went to worst-case scenarios. For a split second I wondered if something much bigger was happening. Hey, these are strange and stressful times!

• "All I could think of well this is it, or a tornado one of the two lol" - Jessica S. 

• "I thought we were under attack for a sec." - B. V.

• "Maybe announce this more than 10 minutes before noon?" Donna D.

• "Perhaps an earlier update next time!" Kaelyn P. 

Well, it turned out KDPS freaked us all out for no reason-- it was only a test!

After scrolling through Facebook for several panicked minutes (as the siren continued) I finally found a post explaining what was going on. At 11:51 a.m. KDPS shared on Facebook:

During the severe weather season, KDPS will test the emergency sirens in the City of Kalamazoo every Sunday at noon, starting today. Have a great Sunday!

Wow. A whole nine minutes of advanced notice.

I understand why KDPS is choosing to test the sirens weekly, and I appreciate that. I'm sure we all do. I think we also would have appreciated a little more advanced notice. Who's running that social media page over there?

So, when it happens next Sunday just know you can keep calm and carry on knowing it is only a test.