Siren software malfunction, 70s ahead

At least we know they work.

Residents of Hennepin County awoke to wailing sirens just after 6 a.m. this morning. It turns out a software malfunction caused the sirens to activate. Apparently we're still all getting the bugs worked out this week.

It's severe weather awareness week in Minnesota and Wisconsin. When the sirens sound for real will you be ready?

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• Here's how to program your NOAA Weather Radio to activate for your county only. (SAME)

• Here's the real skinny on how sirens are activated during severe weather in Minnesota from the Twin Cities National Weather Service.

Siren Activation Information

Counties and cities own the sirens, and therefore decide how and when to activate them. The National Weather Service does not sound them.

There are many different policies regarding siren activation that are used by the various cities and counties. Some will activate sirens across the entire county for tornado warnings only. Others will activate sirens countywide for tornado warnings and all severe thunderstorm warnings. Some will activate sirens across the entire county for tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms that have winds of at least 70 or 75 mph. Others will activate sirens only for portions of counties. Local officials may also sound the sirens anytime they believe severe weather is a threat, even if there is no warning from the National Weather Service.

Sirens normally sound for about three minutes, and then go silent. It is very rare to keep the sirens sounding for the entire warning, since that would cause the backup battery to run out, which would be critical in the event that power goes out. Furthermore, the siren motor will fail much more quickly if the siren sounds continuously. Some jurisdictions may repeat siren activation every few minutes.

There is no such thing as an "all-clear" for storms.

Please check with your local public safety officials for details on when warning sirens are sounded in your community.

Tornado drill Thursday

Here's the scoop on Thursday's statewide tornado drill.

Forecast: Spring fever

This week may (hopefully) be as close we get to the zombie apocalypse in Minnesota. Dazed and confused Minnesotans stumble around with blank stares in search of the nearest Dairy Queen. It's an annual event when temperatures suddenly hit 70 degrees in spring.

From parkas to shorts and pasty white legs in 3 days? Get ready to see some things you can't un-see later this week.

Spotty showers dot the radar this afternoon and evening across Minnesota.

Here's a more detailed look at temperatures through the weekend from NOAA's Global Forecast System model.

After today's shower chances, mostly dry weather prevails through Saturday before a wet low pressure system to the west moves closer by Sunday.

The longer range forecast suggests spring may be here to stay this time.