AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. (WFXG) - Tornado watches were in effect in the early hours Wednesday morning…. And many residents across Aiken County were not aware.

Aiken is an area that sees potential for tornadic activity during strong fronts, but the county has a lack of tornado sirens.

“So we have no tornado sirens in Aiken County, they don't exist. We choose to take a more proactive plan, a proactive direction. And that's with your NOAA weather radios, cell phones, code red. Easy to manage for the individual,” said David Myers, Public Information Officer with Aiken County Emergency Management.

However, some residents say the alerts work occasionally. 

“The code red alerts work sometimes on my phone, but sometimes they don't. So if they don't then I have no idea, so that would not be great,” said Aiken County resident, Sydney Panzer and her son Jackson.

According to the South Carolina State Climatology Office, in a study from 1990 to 2017, there is an average of 26 tornadoes in South Carolina each year. 

One of the bigger tornadoes that ripped through Aiken happened in 20-15. The EF-2 tornado brought wind speeds between 111 mph and 135 mph. 

In regards to tornado watch alerts on phones… Some residents had no idea there was a tornado possibility Wednesday morning.

“I didn't get an alert when the storms came through. So I got kids and she's a stay at home Mom. So it would be nice to get an alert. But if I had heard a siren, I would know what's up,” said Aiken County resident Blake Hickey.

“It would give a second layer of notability. So the word can get out even faster,” said Aiken County resident Markie O’Conner and his daughter Kennedy. 

“The code red alerts work sometimes on my phone, but sometimes they don't. So if they don't then I have no idea, so that would not be great,” said Panzer.

When it comes to being weather aware, many have never even heard of the Code Red.

Code Red is designed to alert people of incoming threats, emergencies or other time-sensitive information. 

“You can do it through 2-1-1, they have that information and they can take that and put it in your phone for your area only. And or you can go to the Aiken county website, and they can direct you in that direction too,” said David Myers.

There are no current plans to put tornado sirens in Aiken County, and Aiken County Emergency Management plans on continuing the proactive measures… such as the NOAA radio, setting up Code Red, and keeping up with local weather. 

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