Will The Sirens Alert Bismarck Residents Of Severe Weather This Summer?

Summer in North Dakota is here. We've already had a couple of 90-degree days, people are out on the river, and summer storms have popped up in the area. Whether it's sunny or dreary, the weather this time of year in North Dakota is incredible. But sometimes, severe weather rolls through our state. Is the City of Bismarck prepared to warn its citizens when the summer weather turns bad?

Last week, the City of Bismarck announced that there was a system-wide failure of the warning sirens in town. According to KFYR-TV, city leaders have faced this issue for over a year. On June 2nd, the Bismarck ND City Government Facebook page posted that the city was working on getting the systems up and working. As of last night, the sirens weren't yet functioning properly.

KFYR-TV is reporting that while the actual sirens are in working order, the activation system is malfunctioning. There are 24 alarms throughout the city, meant to alert residents of severe weather. With the activation system down, the alarms can't trigger, and that's an issue. How will Bismarck residents know if they need to seek shelter in case of severe summer weather?

Well, there are other ways you can keep track of alerts about severe weather. Bismarck Emergency Manager, Gary Stockert, says that the public can be alerted about severe weather via TV, radio, and weather radars, according to KFYR-TV. Get the full story here.

How do you keep track of the severe summer weather in North Dakota?