The arrival of spring unfortunately means more than warmth and flowers. It also means a greater risk of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.

Several years back, Champaign County replaced tornado sirens, indicating a possible tornado somewhere in the county, with the CodeRED system, alerting people via cell phone and/or landline of tornado warnings, severe storms or flooding approaching their specific neighborhoods.

Those who haven’t registered their cell phones and/or landlines for these free alerts with the county Emergency Management Agency may do so at champaignema.org or by calling the EMA office at 937-484-1642. Leave a message with the following information: name, address, phone number(s) and the carrier, if leaving a cell phone number. Subscribers choose which weather alerts to receive.

“It’s important to note that there is no longer any such thing as a countywide alert,” EMA Director Jim Freeman said. “The alerts are based on the address of the subscriber, the geographic area that is actually threatened.”

Mobile app

There is, however, a way to be alerted of bad weather at your location, as long as you and your mobile app are in Champaign County or in any other CodeRED jurisdiction.

Download the CodeRED Mobile Alert App at http://ecnetwork.com/codered-mobile-alert-app/ to receive time-sensitive alerts via your mobile device.