Tornado warnings

The tornado siren sounded several times last night, including after midnight, when I was already in bed trying to go to sleep. Since I didn't hear anything that sounded like a storm, I stayed in bed. The siren seems to sound more often than necessary. When I hear it, I turn on the radio, and the station almost always provides an immediate explanation. The radio alternated between severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings. The tornado warnings were usually for neighboring counties, but they were close to Bartholomew County. At various times, they said that the northwest, southwest, and northeast corners of Bartholomew County were affected. They also said that the storms were moving in directions other than toward Columbus. Often, a tornado warning is issued when radar detects rotation within a storm, but that does not necessarily mean that a tornado has touched down. Areas notably affected included Whiteland, Franklin, Taylorsville, Seymour, and North Vernon. This creates a "boy who cried wolf" situation, where the tornado siren is activated repeatedly even though Columbus does not appear to be in immediate danger. Indiana lies on the northeastern edge of Tornado Alley, so I try to take tornado warnings seriously. However, the frequent use of the siren makes that difficult. -- Best wishes, John Coffey http://www.entertainmentjourney.com