Cell phones can receive Wireless Emergency Alerts, which is a federal public safety system that alerts citizens about public safety emergencies — including severe weather warnings.

ALFRED, Maine — If there were big trouble on the coast – flooding, widespread road damage, bridges swamped, a stubborn uncontrolled fire in northern York County that threatens life and limb – the ...

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — If you receive an emergency alert on your phone or hear tornado sirens Wednesday afternoon, Ingham County Emergency Management wants you to know it is just a test. Ingham ...

Denver will test its wireless emergency alert system Thursday, though only people who’ve opted into receiving test alerts will experience it. The alert is planned for 11 a.m. Thursday.

Other communities, like Winter Park, operate their own siren system for tornado alerts. Florida State University has an outdoor warning system for its campus community.

Unlike other storms, it is impossible to predict where a tornado will hit until it is imminent, a forecaster said.

The alert was issued at 3:54 a.m. through the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system. At 3:58 a.m., the tornado formed in Clark Mills, according to the National Weather Service.