At least one Metro Council member has called for change after yet another instance of tornado sirens going off in Davidson County, when there was no danger of a tornado touching down in that area.
Davidson County currently has 93 tornado sirens placed strategically through the area. However, the sirens are all tied together, meaning officials can not set them off individually.
On Saturday night, as a powerful storm system pushed across Nashville, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for a small portion of Antioch. That warning though triggered all 93 sirens in Davidson County, including some in Joelton that were 25 miles north, and nowhere near the possible touchdown site.
"It’s an immense safety danger, because people become desensitized to the tornado sirens, they stop paying attention to them," says Metro Councilman Dave Rosenberg.
Rosenberg says he doesn't understand why smaller counties in middle Tennessee have been able to upgrade their systems to trigger sirens individually, while Davidson County still continues to use and outdated system that does not work well with the way the National Weather Service now issues warnings.
"The sirens are there for a purpose and they aren’t serving a purpose right now," he added.
The mayor's office is currently working the Office of Emergency Management to identify how much it would cost to upgrade the current system.
