Beginning in March, Forsyth County will replace the severeweather siren “test tone” with a “warning tone” for all monthly siren tests. Previously,the county’s monthly siren tests, held at noon on the first Wednesday of everymonth (weather permitting), would feature a test tone while the warning tonewas reserved to be used exclusively in the event of an actual tornado warning.

“The decision to begin conducting the siren tests with thewarning tone instead of the test tone was made to help avoid confusion and tohelp residents recognize what the alarm signifies should there be an actuallytornado warning in the county,” said EMA Director Chris Grimes.

The next siren test is scheduled for noon on Wednesday,March 6 (weather permitting).

Forsyth County has 17 outdoor severe weather sirens locatedthroughout the county to notify residents that severe weather is in the area.Severe weather sirens are only designed to be heard by individuals outsideduring severe weather. Residents should have other means of receiving severeweather notification when located inside a structure.