SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – When computer technicians investigated Aberdeen's weather sirens in mid-April, they noticed something didn't seem right.
Ahead of expected severe weather, at 5:49 p.m. Monday, June 8, Travis Schaunaman, mayor of Aberdeen, announced on Facebook that the tornado siren system was "not operating as intended."
Tanner Jondahl, chief of police for the city of Aberdeen, said it had never happened before, as far as he knew.
"This is the first time I'm aware of having this type of a catastrophic failure like this," Jondahl said. "We've had some minor issues here and there but nothing to where the entire system was down that I could think of."
Some people on Facebook were not happy with the news, expressing confusion as to why this was not addressed earlier.
"This seems like it should have been a major priority," one person commented.
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According to Schaunaman, the weather alert system is shut off in the fall and remains unused throughout winter, which is how no one realized something was wrong.
Jondahl said it took a few weeks to identify a component that had failed. Initially, the local officials believed fixing that component would get the system operating again but later learned that repairs required an entire software and computer upgrade.
Currently, three out of the city's 18 siren locations are nonfunctional. Four siren locations are in need of attention and two require extra attention from the city.
Aberdeen was not the only city with recent siren issues.
The city of Viborg posted on Facebook Tuesday, June 9, that it was experiencing problems with its siren warning system on the west side of town.
In the post, the city said parts to repair the system have been ordered and it's expected to be fully operating in the next couple of days. The sirens on the east side of town remain functional.
Viborg Mayor John Edelman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Oversight and funding of weather sirens
A part of "Tornado Alley," South Dakota has a long history of being hit by tornadoes, experiencing 28 on average a year, highlighting the importance of reliable weather warning systems.
From 1950 to 2025, South Dakota was hit with 1,938 tornadoes, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Within that time frame, tornadoes have resulted in approximately $259,177,780 in property damages, 488 direct injuries and 19 fatalities.
According to the National Weather Service, outdoor weather sirens are activated primarily by city or county officials who establish their own guidelines, meaning there is no state standard for outdoor sirens. The only uniform standard across the state is during South Dakota Severe Weather Awareness week in April, when all weather sirens are tested.
For example, in Sioux Falls, outdoor warning sirens are tested at 11 a.m. on the first Friday of the month from March through November, whereas in Aberdeen, sirens are tested weekly on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.
Projects such as outdoor warning sirens are funded by a combination of federal and nonfederal funds. One source of funding comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), which becomes available following a presidentially declared disaster.
HMGP funds may be used to pay up to 75% of the eligible costs, according to a spokesperson from FEMA. However, repairing defective sirens comes directly out of the city's budget.
Because of the potential unreliability of the sirens, people are encouraged to subscribe to multiple weather alert services, such as weather apps, NOAA Weather Radio, local media outlets and Wireless Emergency Alerts.
Looking forward
The Aberdeen Fire Department completed a successful test of the backup activation system Tuesday, June 9, at 1 p.m.
Typically, dispatchers do not have to go to the physical site and can operate remotely, as the primary system is connected to the police department's dispatch center.
But someone now must go to a location in a different building and manually push buttons to send out a signal, a system that has not been used for quite some time, Johndahl said.
The new equipment, costing approximately $14,000, has been ordered, but officials have yet to determine a delivery date.
"The real urgency of the issue is being taken care of by the process that we've got in place right now, which will do a suitable job for the time being," Schaunaman said.
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Elena Tittel's internship was funded with support from the Nonprofit Newsroom Internship Program created by The Scripps Howard Fund and the Institute for Nonprofit News. Contact: elena.tittel@sdnewswatch.org.
