Why did storm sirens sound during Sunday storms

Sunday during a severe storm, sirens in several different area cities were sounded.

Joplin was one of the towns that sounded the sirens.

Mayor Keenan Cortez told Newstalk KZRG why they were activated:

“Wind speed greater than 70 miles an hour will cause our sirens to go off to alert everybody that they might need to take shelter. 70 mile an hour winds are no joke. They can knock over things, they can rip off roofs, they can uproot trees and knock them over. So people need to know that that’s happening in our community.”