WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. -- In the aftermath of a fierce storm that blindsided the community of Wheat Ridge and drowned out the noise of emergency warning sirens, police are cautioning residents against relying strictly on sirens in the event of a disaster.

The storm that hit parts of Wheat Ridge, Lakewood and Arvada Monday left behind collapsed roofs, uprooted trees and downed power lines. Residents in Wheat Ridge complained that six newly-installed disaster sirens sounded off only after the storm had passed.

The city of Wheat Ridge received $165,000 in funding from the Jefferson County Emergency Communications Authority to install six sirens and plans to add another five sirens at a cost of $100,000.

Wheat Ridge police spokeswoman Lisa Stigall said the alarms did go off during the storm, but were initially drowned out by strong winds and hail.

“That storm was very, very loud,” she said. “I was in it. I know how loud it sounded and it sounded like a freight train coming in my house.”

Stigall said the storm was unusually strong and ideally, the sirens, which are stationed on the west side of town along the Clear Creek flood plane, should go off before a storm approaches, giving residents warning before they can be drowned out by severe weather.

She also said the city’s plan to add additional sirens along the Interstate 70 corridor will make the sirens easier for residents to hear.

But state disaster emergency officials said residents should not rely solely on sirens during severe weather because they are geared largely toward people who are outdoors during severe weather.

“Tornado sirens are a great way of communicating. They're not the only way of communicating,” said Colorado Division of Emergency Management spokesman Brandon Williams.

Williams said those who are already indoors should rely on television and radio reports and weather radios. In some communities, like Eagle and Summit Counties, residents can sign up for severe weather text message alerts.

“We caution against selecting one particular tool as being the end all, be all of alert systems,” said Williams. “Warning sirens are effective, but they're just one tool among many.”

But not all emergency managers agree that the sirens are the best investment for the limited number of people that they reach.

“I don’t know that they’re worth the expense,“ said Jeff Chalmers, an operations officer with the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

Chalmers said the technology for siren warning systems was first widely used in the United States as a way to warn people in major metro areas to seek shelter during bomb raids. In those days, television sets and stereos, which can drown out sirens, were not as prevalent in households.

“Now, they’re not the most reliable way to warn people,” said Chalmers.

Chalmers also said, rather than encouraging people to take cover, sirens that can be heard indoors sometimes have the opposite effect, bringing people outdoors to search for funnel clouds.

Williams admitted that the sirens may have been less effective during the storm Monday night because of timing. The storm hit in the middle of the night when many people were already indoors. But Stigall said, in the long run, she expects the sirens to be an invaluable tool.

“These sirens were worth every penny and they will save lives,” she said. “We won't be able to please everyone and there will be times that people will not be able to hear the siren. But the day that it's there for them, I hope that they will be able to appreciate the fact that they had that there for them to be warned.”