When the Sirens Were Silent Mass Market Paperback – May 15, 2012

Going back to when I was a kid, I've been enamored by the weather. I owe this in no small part to Mike Smith. When I was growing up in south-central Kansas, Mike was my and my parents favorite television weather forecaster. He never seemed to be talking down to anyone, but always seeking to educate others about the weather. When the Sirens Were Silent continues this quest of educating people about the weather.Where Mike's first book ("Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather") came from the perspective of what we have learned over the past decades through continuing breakthroughs and successes of both public and private meteorologists, Sirens approaches the subject from the other side. What can be learned from the failures that contributed to the deaths off 161 people?What results is a fast-paced book that walks minute by minute through the events leading up to and during the tornado's devastating push through Joplin. Written in this way, it makes for an exciting read and makes you feel like you are present for the historic event. Mike details each step of where mistakes were made, mistakes that are the results of decisions based on old data, lack of training or skill, or the worst offender, political expediency.What did I take away from this book? For as much good that has been done in the past several years with regards to storm warnings, public knowledge, and information dispersal, there are still many things that need to be done. One sentence out of the book summarizes it very clearly for me. "Too many tornado warnings with no tornado. Too many siren activations. People learn from experience. Sometimes they learn the wrong thing."

When the Sirens Were Silent is a brief critical analysis of how the storm warning system performed during the deadliest tornado in the United States in over 60 years. As this event stands almost as a "black swan" to the author's painstaking story of the development of the nation's severe weather warning system over practically the same period, Warnings, I believe it practically demanded, if not an explanation, at least his thoughts.The book contains a few personal stories of people directly involved, to give the reader at least a flavor of the event. However, don't expect a full-throated "human interest" drama here. The story focuses succinctly on the workings of the warning system itself and illustrates shortcomings involving human judgement, policy, technology and - perhaps most important of all - communication. Don't be put off by the prominence of "sirens" in the title. After all, many communities don't even have outdoor warning sirens, so that's a moot point to many of us. Besides obvious problems with the siren system in and around Joplin, there were also errors in the communication of the warning itself, some critical and some more subtle.The book reads quickly and, as is Mike Smith's style, explains technical terms in a way that most can understand. Even so, I would have like to have seen some of his observations more thoroughly fleshed out. For example, he briefly observes that perhaps warning meteorologists rely too heavily on computer logarithms to indicate a storm's direction of movement. He also notes his own private forecasting service doesn't rely exclusively on the computer's "storm attributes" to indicate movement and correctly warned of the storm's actual direction . Fair enough, but I would have liked a little more explanation as to the potential flaws in the computer logarithm and examples of other data that can be analyzed to supplement it. I just feel like some of the findings, although valid, could have been explored a little more deeply.All in all, though, it is a useful read, especially for those involved in any facet of the storm warning process. Hopefully, it will provide some good ideas and inspire those in positions of influence to really examine a set of best practices. When it comes to protecting lives from storms, those in the line of duty need to bring their "A" game every single time.

Denise and Jamie were lucky to survive considering their position. I agree with you wholeheartedly; with today's weather technology, a debate shouldn't exist when it comes to activating a tornado siren in a community. As you mention in the story, the initial tornado siren did sound for Northwest Joplin, but the rest of Joplin was clueless because of inaccurate reporting. The reports of a tornado moving northeast of Galena, Kansas, towards Carl Junction, Missouri, didn't help. But you are also correct to say, "If people are not able or choose not to take shelter, even the best warning is irrelevant." To elaborate on this statement, the Missouri NWS Central Region Service Assessment team conducted a post-tornado report that included resident interviews to detail their preparation leading up to the 2011 tornado. In one example report, a resident was aware that thunderstorms were inevitable, noticed the weather changing and heard the first tornado siren while driving to a restaurant. The resident found the restaurant doors locked, however, upon his arrival and could not enter. This heightened the resident's level of fear for the situation. But a second restaurant was conducting business as usual and led the resident to a table without any regard for the severe weather.You also mention that there are thousands of residents without basements or shelters in Joplin. That's a high risk in tornado alley. Other factors that contributed to the high death-count were people on the roads and out shopping and/or dining in Joplin as mentioned in the previous paragraph. There's very little protection against an EF5 tornado other than being underground or in a tornado-safe room. I would assume most of the businesses hit that day didn't have that type of protection. And being "rain-wrapped" made the situation that much worse --- as Denise and Jamie experienced. The El Reno, Oklahoma tornado in 2013 is an example of how erratic these tornadoes are. If Tim Samaras, a well known tornado researcher and chaser, was taken by surprise, what chance does the public have in these situations? Tim Samaras, his son, Paul, and partner, Carl Young, died in the El Reno tornado. Tim was the most cautious chaser in the industry. Mike Bettes and his "Tornado Hunt" team from the Weather Channel nearly met the same fate Tim Samaras and his team met. Tornadoes can change directions without warning. Imagine the death toll in Joplin had the tornado kept its EF4/EF5 intensity as it suddenly moved southeast from its northeast direction instead of dissipating. This would have caught many more residents off guard. Professional storm chasers are field experts the Weather Science Department depends on for data, but they are needed just as much to warn residents of the potential danger. Jeff and Kathryn Piotrowski probably saved many lives that day from their chasing efforts.Human error and system failure can never be ruled out --- EVER! Having a NOAA radio or a mobile app to receive tornado warnings is imperative for all residents in "tornado alley", particularly if these dangerous storms take place when residents are sleeping.I will end this review by highly recommending this story. The insights on what took place in the hours before the tornado struck and as the tornado was on the ground are priceless. The concerns Mike Smith presents are credible and real, sad to say. But his message on preparing for such an epic storm at the end of the story are also priceless. Thanks, Mike.Lee Throw

Whilst not a big read, the content is definitely informative.It contains a couple of personal accounts of people impacted by the tornado, whilst also critiquing the procedures of the NWS and Joplins siren policy.A tragedy that hopefully won't happen again.