UNDATED - During this Severe Weather Awareness Week, this is the day we practice our tornado drills.

Stearns County Emergency Management Director Erin Hausauer says there are three main criteria for them to sound the outdoor warning sirens.

First and foremost would be a tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service.  Second would be if we were to be receiving reports of a tornado on the ground from a public safety official. And then our third would be if were were experiencing conditions of 70 mph winds or golf ball size hail.

Hausauer says her office is responsible for sounding the sirens for all of the city of St. Cloud, as well as most of the other cities throughout Stearns County.  She says one common myth is that they sound an all-clear siren once the storm has passed.

Minnesota experiences an average of 40 tornadoes each year.

The first statewide tornado drill is Thursday at 1:45 p.m. and there will be a second drill at 6:45 p.m. Thursday evening.

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