Earlier this month, following a week of sunshine, Fort Worth was hit with a thunderstorm and high winds, triggering the outdoor warning system.  

The outdoor warning system, or tornado sirens, were set off in the neighborhoods surrounding TCU campus following heavy thunderstorms on the morning of March 4. 

To set off a tornado siren, wind must exceed 70 mph, hail exceeds a diameter of 1.5 inches, tornado or an immediate threat to safety is reported, according to The National Weather Service.  

Two outdoor warning systems are in the vicinity of TCU campus, one on Berry Street near the baseball stadium and another located at 2995 Lubbock Ave., according to The City of Fort Worth Fire Department Office of Emergency Management. 

On the first Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m., the Fort Worth Fire Department Office of Emergency Management tests the outdoor warning system in an audible 90 second test. 

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado hit Irving, a 30-minute drive away from Fort Worth. Winds peaked at 110 mph. 

Lindsey Gattis, a sophomore marketing major from California, woke up to the sound of sirens but did not take action until her weather app notified her to seek shelter. 

“I then checked my Snapchat and girls said that they were downstairs in the “safest part of the house,” so I went down there,” said Gattis. “Those girls were from STL (St. Louis), and I figured knew more than I did so I just followed their lead.” 

“Sometimes I hate the bipolar weather in Texas,” Gattis said. “But I do like getting experience different weather that I’m not used to in California.” 

Allison Clark, a sophomore journalism major, found the sirens to be reminiscent of the action movie “Twisters”. 

Sophomore criminal justice and phycology major Julia Gragg slept through the strong winds and sirens. 

I woke up at 5 am to the sound of sirens,” Maggie Tuftin, a sophomore interior design major and Arizona native said. “It was eerie.” 

Like Gragg, freshman nursing major Lauren Larson was unaware of the storm and slept through the sirens. 

Larson said she learned her lesson to be prepared for emergencies by turning on her weather alerts.  

Sophomore fashion merchandising major and Texas native Gracie Fleming checked the storm radar before taking shelter on the first floor of her dormitory. 

Fleming, a Texas native, knew it was necessary to seek shelter when the radar reported Tarrant County under a tornado warning.  

“This is normal for this time of the year,” Fleming said. 

Tuftin said she waited for the TCU alarm system to activate but heard nothing. She said she recalled her student safety training to seek shelter on the first floor of her dormitory.  

Each building on the TCU campus has a designated shelter in case of emergency.