Lucas County’s enhanced weather-alert system will go live Wednesday morning in conjunction with an annual statewide tornado drill intended to boost severe weather awareness.
The drill is a focal point of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Ohio, which began Sunday and continues through Saturday, officials said.
When sirens sound at 9:50 a.m., the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency also will send out practice alerts to people who have subscribed to its enhanced alert system.
The system allows subscribers to register up to five phone numbers, five email addresses, and five physical locations, with alerts being communicated to individuals based on their relevance to one or more of the physical locations.
The time for preparing emergency response plans is now, not when an emergency situation is developing, said Lisa Sobecki, president of the Lucas County Board of Commissioners.
“You should already have your plan in place. What are you going to tell your kids?” Ms. Sobecki said before suggesting that emergency preparedness will be a good subject for dinner-table discussions Wednesday evening.
The Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness urged businesses, schools, and others to practice their emergency sheltering plans in response to the siren test Wednesday morning.
“The statewide tornado drill gives Ohioans a chance to practice safe sheltering before a real severe weather event,” said Sima Merick, executive director of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. “We encourage all Ohioans to be prepared — stay safe and know what to do when severe weather strikes.”
Toledo’s most recent experience with a damaging tornado occurred June 15, 2023, when a twister sliced through Point Place and then crossed the Maumee River into the Port of Toledo, skipping across a lake freighter along the way. The estimated peak wind along its two-mile path was 130 mph.
Ms. Sobecki said some Point Place residents protested afterward that they never heard sirens. But sirens are only designed to be heard by people who are outdoors, she said, while text alerts and weather radios work indoors.
Besides serving as a reminder about the potential dangers of tornadoes, lightning, and flooding rain, the siren activation Wednesday morning is intended to function as a test for individual siren locations. People who do not hear their neighborhood emergency siren operate during the drill are asked to contact officials in their county to advise them of the malfunction.
Jay Berschback, chief meteorologist at WTVG-TV, Channel 13, said Tuesday afternoon there’s a slight chance of real-world siren activation Wednesday night as a storm system moves east from Indiana into northwest Ohio.
“We’re at the edge of marginal risk,” Mr. Berschback said. “Right now there’s a small chance of a severe storm west of I-75. Storms should be weakening as they roll in, with 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. being prime time for storms.”
Spring is typically a peak period for tornadic weather in Toledo and surrounding areas, although dangerous storms have occurred at other times of year as well.
The Lucas County alert system goes beyond weather emergencies to also provide information about other scenarios, such as hazardous-materials incidents and boil advisories for public water supplies, Ms. Sobecki said.
The multiple-locations feature, she said, makes it customizable so that alerts for places people work — or where their children go to school — will only go through at the proper times of day.
And no longer will people who live in Whitehouse get alerts for hazards in Jerusalem Township, or vice versa.
Besides having an emergency plan ready, the commissioners’ president said people should check their insurance policies for severe-weather coverage, because property insurance does not necessarily include that coverage as standard.
The Point Place tornado revealed that many property owners there were unaware of their insurance coverages’ limitations, Ms. Sobecki said.
And while some complained that they never heard sirens sound before the twisters’ arrival, Ms. Sobecki said the sirens are designed to be heard by people who are outdoors, but not necessarily those inside buildings. That’s what weather radios and cellphone alerts are for, she said.
The National Weather Service will be activating emergency weather radios during the statewide drill.
Ottawa County, which neighbors Lucas County to the east, also will be testing its wireless emergency notification system during the drill. People who live, work, or otherwise spend time there may sign up on the county website, co.ottawa.oh.us and clicking to the Emergency Management Agency page.
The primary National Weather Service alerts for potentially damaging thunderstorms are watches or warnings for tornadoes or for severe thunderstorms. A watch means weather conditions during the designated time period are expected to be favorable for storm development. A warning means dangerous weather has been observed and people in the marked area should take cover.
During flood and flash-flood warnings, meanwhile, people in flood-prone areas are urged to seek safer ground while avoiding driving through flooded roadways, where swift current or deep water can cause vehicles to be swept away.
First Published March 18, 2025, 11:59 p.m.
