Blizzard or World War III? : Town Finds Snow-Alert Warning Siren Alarming

If World War III broke out in the winter, Evanston residents probably would go out and move their cars.

The city’s air-raid siren sounds for 30 seconds each hour when snowfalls of at least four inches are expected, a reminder to persons in this northern Chicago suburb to move their cars off certain streets to accommodate snowplows.

Dogs Howl, Babies Cry

But, when the alarm goes off, dogs howl, babies cry and tempers boil in Evanston--and nearby Chicago, Skokie and Wilmette.

Alderwoman Evelyn Raden has been fielding complaints from citizens, like the woman who called to ask what would happen if Evanston’s air raid siren wailed in time of war.

“I had to acknowledge that people would probably go to move their cars,” she said.

‘Russians Have Landed’

The first time Eileen Ringel heard the siren, she “thought it was a joke. I looked at my husband and we said, ‘The Russians have landed.”’ Their apartment is only 15 feet from the yellow siren atop the police station.

Ringel and her physician-husband, Edward, have a 4-month-old daughter, Meredith. “When the siren rings, she starts to cry. Babies are suppose to sleep at this age,” said Ringel, who took her complaint to a meeting of the City Council.

The siren is tested at 10:30 a.m. every Tuesday, but the Ringels, who moved into the apartment in May, did not know about the parking warnings until a big snowstorm hit recently.

“The siren rang every hour on the hour for six days,” she said.

“We might have to move. I can’t let it go on,” she said. “It snows a lot in Chicago, you know.”

Alternatives Sought

Mrs. Raden asked the city to study alternatives “so the whole community doesn’t suffer.”

“It will take some brainstorming,” said Brian Coyman, assistant city manager. “We could end up recommending that the city continue with the sirens.”

Coyman said that the siren warning system works. “During the snow and wind . . . we had the snow cleared on all streets, curb to curb, in just two days,” he said.

But, Mrs. Ringel said, “The sirens haven’t worked very well because they still had to go out with loudspeakers and tell people to move their cars.”

System Seldom Used

The council adopted the snowstorm siren warnings after the harsh winter of 1979, but they had been used only twice before this year.