You know-it-alls can snort and mock all you want, but the people of Joplin, Missouri won't be mocking the siren warning system they have.
And by the way, not all tornados appear in a matter of 30-60 seconds like people here are describing the wind strike last night at the square.
Joplin, Missouri (CNN) --
".....Every day in cities and towns across the Midwest, the routine test of an emergency system intended to save lives often gets ignored.
But after Sunday, no one in this college town of 50,000 is likely to dismiss a siren's call again.
In the middle of a clear, sunny afternoon, the deadliest recorded tornado in U.S. history spun up over Joplin. Within a matter of minutes, it leveled entire blocks, smashing miles of homes to splinters.....
"......Conventional time, counted in minutes, stopped at 5:17 p.m., when the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Joplin, triggering the city's sirens.
They had 24 minutes before touchdown, before the tornado would be on top of them....."
They had 24 minutes to escape the twister - CNN.com