An emergency weather system capable of alerting all county residents on pending tornadoes or possibly other extreme severe weather, is now available to all residents who have either land-line and/or cell phones. However, those individuals who have cellular phones or have a 606 area code prefix “other than 387” will need to register their phone number and information online or with the local Emergency Services, according to Director of Emergency Services Lonnie Scott and 911 Mapping Coordinator Andy Davis.

The Code Red weather warning system has been in the works and actually used in the county on a limited basis for sometime, but some glitches with the computerized system kept the service from being available to all residents, especially those who have cell phones, or land-line customers who are not on the mainstream local phone service, Windstream.

The warning system was first announced a few years ago when the Kentucky office of Homeland Security offered grant funding for the project due to the possible breach of Wolf Creek Dam. Four counties were included in the grant area, including Clinton, Cumberland, Monroe and Russell.

Following the expiration of the grant, each county government decided to keep and fund the weather warning system as a safety precaution for their respective counties.

Any resident who is on a land line phone with a different prefix from 387, or possesses a cell phone and would like to be registered to receive an automatic call or text in the event of a tornado warning, can log on to www.clintoncountyems.org or phone the local Emergency Services at 387-8636. If registering online, go to the “warning signals” tab at the top of the EMS page.

When registering, you will only need to supply your name, address and phone number. You can also get other weather related preparedness information on the website.

Davis said that currently, Windstream is the only phone service provider that has added the Code Red system into its land-line phones which have the 387 prefix. Other home phones that have another prefix should register their phones to be assured of getting the weather alerts.

Scott noted that a total “county-wide” test had not yet been done since most of the glitches with the system have been corrected, with the latest involving the warning system messages meant for Clinton County going to Cumberland County instead.

“The primary alert that will be issued with Code Red is tornado warnings, and the system can be set off internally at the EMS building,” Scott said. He also added the system will send text messages to cell phones that have texting capability.

Scott also foresees the system being upgraded to where all emergency first responders, i.e., ambulance service, fire department, police, schools, etc., can be notified of a warning with one call at the same time.

Although a county-wide test call has not been made, Scott said that would probably take place when the tornado warning sirens are tested during Severe Weather Awareness Week in early March.