(Continued from page 21)

bit louder," he said.
• "When we use them, you ought to pay attention," he said.
• The weather service started its expanded warning pilot in Kansas and Missouri last year after researchers found that Joplin, Mo., residents didn't get a strong enough warning about the May 2011 tornado. It killed 161 people, injured hundreds more and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings.
• "Nothing in that warning really stood out that said 'this is a lot higher risk' than a typical warning might be," Hudson said.
• Just a handful of alerts were issued in the two-state region last year, Hudson said, but follow-up surveys found the heightened warnings improved response time, so the weather service decided to expand the pilot to the rest of the Midwest.
• With that expansion, they will start including more information about when a tornado is expected to arrive.
• In Minnesota, tornadoes are less frequent and generally less severe, so the updated system may be used more often for one or more severe thunderstorms. But Tony Zaleski, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's office in Chanhassen, Minn., cautioned that residents should take cover in a basement, bathroom or closet during any tornado.
• "Even though we are coming up with this system for the larger tornadoes, the public should still be aware that they should take extra steps when any tornado warning is actually issued," Zaleski said.
• Additional states to see the new system include Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.
•