By DONALD MOTTERN | Editor

PELHAM – Pelham residents enjoying their days at Pelham City Park and the surrounding complex can feel a little safer thanks to the successful installation of the Perry Weather Alert System announced Wednesday, August 14 by the Pelham Parks and Recreation Department.

After installation was completed the previous day, August 13, Pelham residents and park visitors can now rest easy knowing they will be warned of impending severe weather thanks to Perry’s new weather alert system.

The Perry Weather System is specifically designed to provide early warning of lightning strikes within a 13-kilometer radius of the park. When a lightning strike is detected, a siren will now sound for 25 seconds to alert people to lightning strikes near the park.

These sirens project a sound up to 450 meters in all directions, ensuring that every citizen in the park and the surrounding complex is informed of the situation.

In these cases, a 30-minute countdown will begin after each lightning strike is detected. This clock will reset each time a new lightning strike is detected. Once the timer reaches zero, activities in the park can resume according to current safety procedures.

To signal the all-clear, the system emits three clearly audible beeps, indicating that the alarm level has expired.

Because of the sirens’ coverage area, it’s likely that residents of surrounding neighborhoods will hear the warnings. However, city officials remind Pelham residents that these sirens are intended solely to indicate lightning strikes and provide safety information to park visitors. The sirens are never used to indicate tornado warnings.

The City of Pelham stopped using tornado sirens entirely in 2018 and currently uses electronic methods, cell phones, and weather radio to notify its residents of severe weather.

According to the Pelham Parks and Recreation Department, signs will be posted in Pelham City Park with information about the new system. Perry, the company providing the alert system, will also create a QR code link to a website where park visitors can track weather conditions in real time.

The City of Pelham officially finalized its contract with Perry Weather on May 20, when the Pelham City Council passed a resolution approving the city’s contract with the weather alert company. The project was a planned and approved part of the city’s 2024 budget.