The Tuesday Noon Siren

Dick is working from home for part of the day today. He was just getting ready to take a shower, when he walked quickly out of the room asking, "Did you hear that? Was that an Air Raid Siren?"

I replied back, "Nope. that's just the Noon Siren."

Dick: "The What?!

Trina: "The Noon Siren. Everyday it goes off at Noon."

Dick: "What?!"

Trina: "Yeah. Every day. Siren. Noon. It's been going on for years."
(This is what happens when you work from home for several years.)

So, I decided to look it up on the net. Here's what I found:

The Tuesday Noon Siren
Every Tuesday at noon, San Francisco tests the Outdoor Warning System. During the test the siren emits a 15 second alert tone. In an actual emergency, the siren tone will cycle repeatedly for 5 minutes. Should you hear the sirens at any time other than Tuesday at noon, go indoors and immediately tune to a news source such as KCBS 740 AM, or other local media stations.

Learn more about the siren system at www.72hours.org, the San Francisco Office of Emergency Services & Homeland Security's new website. Here you'll find information on how to respond to specific types of emergencies, such as an Earthquake or a Tsunami, and easy steps to help you develop your own emergency plan.

In a major disaster it might be 3 days before vital services are restored.
When you hear the Tuesday Noon Siren, it's your weekly reminder to make an emergency plan, build an emergency supply kit and be prepared to be self sufficient for 72 hours.

Turns out it only goes off at Tuesday at Noon. Who knew? Either I'm hearing things on those other days, or I just assumed that I only heard it every once-in-a-while. Turns out the only days I heard it was on Tuesdays!