Severe storms possible Thursday afternoon

MAY 9 AT 9:31 A.M. Be aware of potential severe weather starting Thursday afternoon. There is a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon and evening with a chance of large hail, damaging winds, heavy rain and possibly tornadoes. Residents should secure outdoor items and write their home addresses on their trash and recycling carts to help identify them if they blow away.

Please stay alert and be prepared for severe weather by monitoring local weather updates, having a plan in place, and keeping a way to receive weather alerts handy.

If you hear the outdoor warning sirens, you should get indoors, find shelter and seek information. Allen Fire Department operates 26 outdoor warning sirens that sound during severe weather events. You may not hear them inside your home as air conditioning, thunder, wind, rain and other conditions can drown out the sound. Sirens are activated for:

• Hail greater than 1 inch in size
• Winds greater than 70 mph
• Tornado warnings from the National Weather Service naming Allen in the path

If you hear sirens, you should get indoors, find shelter and seek information. The best source for weather warnings is an NOAA all-hazards weather radio which activates when it receives a radio signal from the NWS. You can put the radio near your bed to wake you up if you're asleep, and there's adaptive technology available for people with vision or hearing impairments. View NOAA radio frequencies

Backup options include:

Stay connected for closure, emergency information

• CityofAllen.org is the primary source of closure and storm/service impact information for the City of Allen.
• Facebook page when the outdoor weather sirens are activated. The post will advise as to the reason for activation but, depending on location of your home and the speed and movement of the storm, information may not be applicable or timely to all viewers and should not be used as your main alerting source.
• For advance notice of weather, weather-related reminders, and information on storm/service impacts, the primary social media channel used to share information is the City of Allen Facebook page.
• During emergencies, the primary social media channel used to share information is the City of Allen Facebook page.