Mesquite, TX - March 3, 2023 - Last night, severe weather moved through the region and had the potential to cause serious damage. Fortunately, the impacts to Mesquite were minimal.
Several questions have been raised about the use of emergency warning sirens during the storm. The siren system is designed to alert residents who are outside their homes of all severe weather and emergencies, not just tornados. The decision to use the system is based on National Weather Service warnings and at the direction of the Fire Chief, Police Chief, and Emergency Management Coordinator. When you hear the sirens, you should seek shelter immediately and check for alerts from the City or from weather reports.
The Mesquite area received a warning for a severe storm with hazardous winds last night around 6 p.m. The decision was made to sound the sirens twice as an extra precaution. Following this activation of the sirens, a portion of Dallas County was advised of a tornado warning. Several of our neighboring cities were included in this and sounded their sirens. Knowing that portions of Mesquite were in the path of this tornado warning, the sirens were sounded a third time.
I want to commend our emergency management team, police and fire department, and our public safety dispatch. They were ready for this storm event and responded to calls throughout the storm.