An audit of the Wichita Falls outdoor warning sirens has revealed multiple failures and warning flags.
Inspections were conducted in March and April of 2026 by Omni Warn, a Yukon, Oklahoma-based company that specializes in sales and service for emergency notification systems.
Wichita Falls has 53 warning sirens across the city to alert residents of severe weather dangers.
Information provided by the city through a Times Record News Open Records Request shows the audit found 709 failures among the units and their components and 255 warning flags.
Failures ranged from moisture and corrosion in the control cabinets to battery failures, failed weather seals and problems in electrical grounding, coaxial cable connections and wiring harnesses.
In individual instances, the inspector found cabinet doors blown off by a battery explosion, unplugged wiring, crushed connectors, rotting conduit, battery corrosion, unplugged wiring and “sloppy splices.” He also found evidence of infestation in the equipment by wasps, beetles and lizards.
The company suggested replacing many of the batteries in the sirens “ASAP.” One battery had been installed in 2012 and several were installed prior to 2020.
The bill for the audit was $10,125.
Omni Warn offered a proposal to repair the system for $1,187,262.85. It also offered a proposal to replace the system for $1,708.365.60.
City spokesperson Chris Horgen said the Traffic Department is responsible for maintenance of the system. The sirens are tested on the first Monday of each month, weather allowing.
In November 2025, the city posted notice that it had implemented a new criteria for sounding the sirens. They now sound when:
Also, all 53 sirens will sound. Under the previous policy, sirens would sound only in the portion of the city when designated by the NWS.
When the change was announced at a Nov. 4, 2025 meeting of the Wichita Falls City Council, Fire Chief Cody Melton said the sirens are just one piece of the warning system.
“Get on your TV. Turn on your weather app. Get your weather radio out,” Melton said. “However you tune in for weather, please do that. And we ask, do not rely solely on the sirens.”
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Audit finds hundreds of failures in Wichita Falls outdoor siren system
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
