Rankin County Board of Supervisors Announces Completion of Outdoor Weather Warning System Upgrades

The Rankin County Board of Supervisors is pleased to announce the successful upgrade of all outdoor weather warning sirens throughout unincorporated Rankin County. At a cost of approximately $1,000,000, the upgrade provides improved and enhanced audible warning of inclement weather. The new system includes improved connectivity to official weather monitoring systems, as well as the ability to focus warnings along identified storm tracks. “This updated system has been planned for quite some time and has been a high priority for the Board of Supervisors,” remarked Sid Scarborough, Board President. “Public safety is one of our most important priorities in Rankin County. Our citizens living in rural Rankin County rely on our outdoor weather warning system to provide that critical alert when weather threatens. The Board of Supervisors heard from our constituents and we have acted to address their concerns.”

Brian Grantham, Director of Rankin County Emergency Operations Center, added, “I could not be more pleased with this upgraded system. Rankin County’s outdoor weather warning system has been modernized substantially. Citizens in rural Rankin County who may be outdoors when severe weather threatens will have a much greater chance to hear an outdoor warning with this new system and respond by seeking shelter immediately. Because all outdoor weather warning systems are designed to deliver warnings to persons who may be outdoors as weather threatens, we continue to encourage our citizens to use multiple weather warning approaches, such as emergency text messages or other cell phone-based warning systems, as well as a NOAA-certified weather radio. No one system is designed to cover every possibility, so it is important to remain weather-aware by using multiple approaches. And our outdoor weather warning system is not designed to deliver an audible weather warning to citizens who are located inside homes or buildings. This is why it is imperative that our citizens not rely solely on outdoor weather warning systems. Citizens should rely on local broadcast media, cell phone emergency alerts, or a weather radio for weather warnings when inside a building or home.”