{"id":284739,"date":"2026-04-25T01:23:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T01:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/284739\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T01:23:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T01:23:34","slug":"update-one-oakland-siren-back-online-the-other-still-down-as-severe-weather-moves-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/284739\/","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE: One Oakland Siren Back Online \u2014 The Other Still Down as Severe Weather Moves In"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When Facebook first lit up with claims that all of Oakland\u2019s tornado sirens were down, we went straight to the source\u2014Dusty Nichols\u2014and confirmed that both sirens serving the area were indeed offline.<\/p>\n

Now, we have a critical update.<\/p>\n

What Changed \u2014 And What Hasn\u2019t<\/p>\n

As of today:<\/p>\n

The Oakland pool siren is now fully operational<\/p>\n

The Ballard (airport) siren is still not working<\/p>\n

Nichols confirmed directly in an email to Shawnee County staff:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Oakland pool siren is operating as expected. We made the repairs today and I just did an on-site in-person test. Everything is working normally.\u201d<\/p>\n

That repair comes just in time, as severe weather is expected to move through the area today.<\/p>\n

The second siren, located near Ballard Airport, is still awaiting repair. According to Nichols, the county\u2019s contractor is scheduled to complete that work Monday.<\/p>\n

Timing Matters \u2014 And This Timing Is Tight<\/p>\n

This update comes as Shawnee County faces a high risk of severe weather today (Thursday, April 23, 2026):<\/p>\n

70%\u201385% chance of thunderstorms and rain<\/p>\n

Primary threat window: 2 PM to 10 PM<\/p>\n

Strong winds and potential for severe storm development<\/p>\n

Storms may continue into the early morning hours<\/p>\n

In other words, one siren is back online just before a significant weather event\u2014while the other remains silent.<\/p>\n

What This Means for Oakland Residents<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the reality heading into today\u2019s storms:<\/p>\n

You do have siren coverage again in Oakland\u2014but it\u2019s now limited to a single operational unit<\/p>\n

The airport-area siren will not sound if a warning is issued<\/p>\n

Coverage may be reduced depending on your location<\/p>\n

Nichols previously emphasized\u2014and it still applies now\u2014that:<\/p>\n

Outdoor sirens are not your primary warning system.<\/p>\n

He stressed that most people already have severe weather alerts built into their phones, and if you\u2019re not receiving them, there\u2019s a strong likelihood those alerts have been turned off.<\/p>\n

What You Should Do Before 2 PM Today<\/p>\n

With storms expected this afternoon, take a few minutes now:<\/p>\n

Check that Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are enabled on your phone<\/p>\n

Turn on notifications for your weather apps<\/p>\n

Identify a secondary alert method (TV, radio, NOAA weather radio)<\/p>\n

Because even with one siren restored:<\/p>\n

You should not rely on hearing a siren as your only warning today.<\/p>\n

Bottom Line<\/p>\n

The situation has improved\u2014but is not fully resolved<\/p>\n

One of two Oakland sirens is now working<\/p>\n

The second remains offline until at least Monday<\/p>\n

Severe weather is expected within hours<\/p>\n

This is about as close as timing gets.<\/p>\n

One siren is back. One is still down.
And the storms are already on the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Facebook first lit up with claims that all of Oakland\u2019s tornado sirens were down, we went straight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-284739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}