What is the procedure for sounding the town siren for a tornado?

What may have happened was the funnel cloud you saw was either a downburst or a cold air funnel.

However, in the case they aren't cold air funnels or downbursts and the NWS doesn't catch it in time and doesn't issue a tornado warning, it might be that their equippment didn't catch it in time or that no spotters saw it.

Weather spotters and weather radar isn't perfect. So err on the side of caution when you see severe weather. Even if it's a severe thunderstorm warning, head indoors and don't be chicken to head to the basement.

Locally, I've noticed that our sirens tend to follow the weather radio broadcasts. If a direct warning comes up on the weather radio, the siren may follow. But nobody wants to sound the sirens too often, because the public will get jaded to the whole thing and stop paying attention. So the sirens aren't sounded very often. The last time I was crouched in the hallway hiding from a tornado, I noticed that within moments of the weather radio's warning, the sirens started up. That was a serious case, in which a tornado was on the ground and directly in the path of my house. The city generally won't sound sirens for simple funnel clouds, unless they show serious signs of touching down.

I'm not sure how it works everywhere, but in our locality, the Emergency Management Director (or any of his designees) has the authority to sound the tornado sirens. Our volunteer firefighters go out on "storm watch" when the conditions are favorable for severe weather, and if anything significant is seen, we radio our findings to the EMD and he makes the decision.

Of course, the National Weather Service is the governing body that issues a tornado warning, and generally, when a warning is issued, we sound the sirens. The NWS may issue a warning based on spotter reports or radar information.

On one hand, we like to err on the side of safety and sound the sirens any time there is a possibility of damaging weather conditions, but on the other hand, if we get to overzealous with the siren, the community becomes complacent, and doesn't take it seriously (like "The Boy Who Cried 'Wolf!').

When ever Doppler Radar Picks up a Rotation in the Storm, This props a Tornado Warning. Thats when the EMA or Skywarn Group Sounds the Siren.

when i lived in texas, i noticed that they test the sirens every first wednesday of the month. and if you go outside and listen carefully, you'll be able to hear each one go off right after the other. and maybe you could count. i've counted 10 and i know there's more... i know that has nothing to do with your question. but they are always people looking out for tornadoes. that's why they give tornadoe warnings. if you had a tornadoe warning, maybe that is why you saw one. i don't think they turn the sirens on until they know for sure that a tornadoe is forming and about to touch down. and if they happen to turn on the tornadoe sirens, they will also interupt all radio and tv stations to give the report. that's wat they do when they are testing them also.

I'm not sure. I was born in the Pocono's and they did get a tornado warning, but heard no siren. I'm in Erie now, tornadoes are a nuisance here. We do get watches if the weather is perfect for the tornado kind of conditions.