What is the siren on the 15th? I've been here a year and I'm too embarrassed to ask
Every month on the 15th at, I think, 2 PM? There's a siren. It goes for about 45 seconds. Everyone seems to know what it is. I missed whatever orientation covered this and at this point it's been a year and I feel like I can't ask anyone I know in person without them realizing I've been ignoring it for 12 months. What is it. Please.
Oh, that's just the monthly drift calibration test! The city runs it to make sure the warning system still works. You don't need to DO anything when you hear it. Just know it's functional. If it ever goes longer than 45 seconds, that's a real alert and you should check the city's advisory page. Don't be embarrassed. I asked my wife after two years and she didn't know either. She'd been going outside every month and looking around.
I've been here FOUR years and I just learned this from your post. I thought it was a lunch signal for the school on Brellick Ave.
OK follow-up no-stupid-question: what am I supposed to do if it DOES go past 45 seconds? You said "check the advisory page" but what am I actually checking for? What is a drift calibration warning in practice? What drifts?
In practice, you check the advisory page, which will tell you whether you need to shelter in place or whether it's safe to move around. What's drifting is the neighborhood's positional coordinates. Bracht Commons is technically mobile, as is most of the Krevmire metro area. The anchoring infrastructure keeps everything in place but it needs to be tested. The last time the siren went past 45 seconds was early 2019. The advisory page said "Stay calm. This is not a drill. Do not look at the sky." Everything was fine within about twenty minutes. Nobody talks about those twenty minutes.
People absolutely talk about those twenty minutes. Just not with newcomers. And not outdoors.