Nuclear plant stationed in York County sounds seasonal test sirens
By Samiyah Heyward
Staff Writer
News
On Oct. 7, 2026, the Catawba Nuclear Station tested 89 outdoor warning sirens between a two hour testing window from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Each siren played throughout this window lasted for around three minutes. The emergency sirens are tested regularly on the second Wednesday of every three months to minimize disruptions for individuals living within the plant area.
General Information
The sirens are owned and maintained by Duke Energy. In coordination with the company, county and state emergency management officials determine if, and when, to sound sirens and activate them accordingly.
Emergency management officials may also use the sirens to alert residents of other types of events, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding or hazardous spills, said Duke Energy’s 2022 Siren Fact Sheet.
Siren testing is generally loud and can be heard for several miles, but their primary purpose is to inform any local residents outside to go indoors and tune into Emergency Alert System (EAS) television stations and local radio for official updates and instructions. Many residents may not hear the sirens while inside.
These sirens are regularly tested and do not automatically indicate an emergency evacuation, nor do they require any action from the public.
In the case of a true emergency, the sirens would repeatedly sound longer than a three minute period and emergency management officials would provide clear directions across multiple EAS channels and stations. “Staying calm and informed is key— your safety starts with knowing what the sirens mean and how to respond,” said the official Catawba Nuclear Station website.
Student Perspectives
While these test sirens are routine and require no action from residents living nearby, many students at Winthrop University voiced their concerns regarding the alarm.
“Hearing the nuclear alarm really shocked me at first, considering I had only heard it once my freshman year. I thought it would be a one time thing,” Marley Shier, sophomore English major said. “My professor for my 11 a.m. English class is new to teaching at Winthrop, and I could tell by her face that when the alarm started in class, she was distracted, given she had no idea what the noise was.”
That disruption wasn’t just heard in one lecture hall, it was heard across Scholars’ Walk and the DiGiorgio Campus center, becoming a campus wide distraction.
“I hadn’t heard a nuclear alarm before until I got on campus. It was the other day in my psychology class and when I heard it I was mostly confused because it was 11 a.m. in the morning. I remember a lot of my classmates were confused and concerned, even my teacher didn’t know what was happening,” Laila Dows, sophomore psychology major said.
Dows added, “I think that [the alarms] are necessary but maybe they should pick a better time to do it because a lot of people tend to be in class […] they should do it in a less busier time frame.”
Shier further emphasized the lack of general knowledge on the test sirens. “I’m from Charleston, so I never really get nuclear alarms like that […] the amount of times I have heard it have been during my academic classes, so it has been a distraction for me,” said Shier.
She added, “I feel like [the alarms] are necessary and should be talked about, but this campus specifically doesn’t talk about the noise even though, so many people like me wonder what it is.”
For individuals seeking direct reminders about the nuclear testing alarm periods, Catawba Nuclear Station offers optional automated text alerts by signing up through the Duke Energy Nuclear Safety Preparedness Portal. Furthermore, the Duke Energy Catawba Emergency Preparedness webpage provides detailed information regarding the test sirens’ purpose and the upcoming schedules for future soundings.
The current upcoming nuclear siren testing dates are January 13, April 14 and July 14 of 2027.
