With severe weather likely this afternoon, into Tuesday morning, here's a reminder on how citizens are alerted by City officials and the National Weather Service about weather-related emergency situations.
The National Weather Service in Abilene/San Angelo reminded Monday morning that citizens should have at least two ways to receive warnings to stay alert to any that are issued.
City of San Angelo Fire Chief Brian Dunn said in an earlier interview that the City no longer utilizes sirens as alerts, but instead uses the emergency alert systems via Nixle, cell phones, land lines and social media such as Twitter. Tweets are typically posted by the San Angelo Police Department's Twitter and Facebook pages.
Dunn said the alerts are similar to the Amber Alerts which pop up on cell phones and has information specific to the weather-related emergency in present time.
The sirens' inactivity is not new. They have not been utilized in a couple of years locally.
In Abilene, citizens can register for Code Red to receive alerts. Registration is available at abilenetx.gov. Call 2-1-1 for help with the process.
Additionally, the NWS will issue alerts on NOAA weather radios. Weather radios are often battery-powered and will not be affected by power outages.
Local broadcast agencies will also be distributing the information.
Sign up for up-to-date weather alerts and information on the FOX West Texas app here.