Into tornado country

I grew up hearing tornado sirens periodically being tested and practicing tornado drills in school and summer camp. Our arrival in tornado country last summer announced itself by this familiar siren on our way across northern Illinois...

Great Plains scavenger hunt item number three: tornado siren

A civil defense siren (also referred to as an air raid siren, tornado siren, tsunami siren, or other outdoor warning siren) is a mechanical or electronic device for generating sound to provide warning of approaching danger and sometimes to indicate when the danger has passed. Initially designed to warn of air raids in World War II, they were adapted to warn of nuclear attack and of natural phenomena such as tornadoes. In the United States, sirens are usually used to warn of impending natural disasters, as well as threats of military attacks, which in the United States are rare. Throughout the Great Plains, Midwest, and South, they are used to notify the public of a tornado warning or flash flood.