After several reports of funnel clouds in the area, tornado sirens in parts of Owensboro and Daviess County were sounded shortly after noon Saturday. No warnings were issued by the National Weather Service, which is why there were no alerts to residents.
Daviess County Emergency Management Agency Director Andy Ball released the following statement:
Regarding siren activation a few minutes ago (Saturday, Aug 22, 2020):
I (Andy Ball) received a call from Central Dispatch relaying to me an officer in the field reported a funnel near the airport. Because we had no additional field information, I made the decision to have Dispatch set off the sirens as a precaution until I could make contact with the National Weather Service Paducah office. I then immediately called the NWS who stated very slim chance this was a tornado, but rather probably a cold air funnel. I then had Dispatch patch me through to the officer to get more info, who stated he never saw it touch ground, but did see some rotation.
There were never any warnings issued by NWS, which is why residents did not receive any alerts on tv, radio, or phone.
Bottom line: this was a better safe than sorry scenario.
