Village of Elburn investigating possible siren failures after severe storms

ELBURN, Ill. - The Village of Elburn is investigating reports that two storm sirens failed to activate during severe weather Friday night.

Severe storms moved through Chicagoland overnight Friday into early Saturday, bringing dangerous wind gusts and prompting several severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings.

Possible Siren Issues in Elburn 

What we know:

The Village of Elburn shared a statement on Facebook on Saturday morning, confirming that its siren control system activated at 11:44 p.m.

Officials added that the village’s storm sirens are connected and activate simultaneously.

However, the village said it is investigating reports that the sirens at the Blackberry Creek subdivision west site and the wastewater treatment facility did not activate during the storm.

What they're saying:

"We will be investigating these reports to determine if there was a failure of these sirens for some reason. All of our sirens are tested on the first Tuesday of each month, with the last test having been on March 4th, at which time there was no indication of any problems," the village said in part. 

"We want to remind everyone that these sirens are designed to alert people in outdoor areas that might be away from other notification systems. The sirens are not designed to warn people inside structures (although often they can) and especially not if the incident occurs overnight when people are sleeping. Please take advantage of the many cell phone notification systems or weather warning radios to ensure proper notifications."

What we don't know:

The National Weather Service has not confirmed whether a tornado touched down in Elburn overnight during the storm.

It is also unclear at this time whether there was a malfunction in the siren system, as the village continues its investigation.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.