Here's why emergency weather alerts seem to be triggered everywhere

Regina resident Barbara Hitchens recalls getting numerous weather emergency alerts to her cell phone in recent weeks.

“I got at least six,” said Hitchens. “I got them during the day.”

After receiving the alerts, Murray McCormick said he did not take the alerts seriously.

“I don't know if I take them that seriously because the first thing I did was look out the window,” said McCormick. “So maybe I didn't and I have to take it little more seriously.”

The emergency alert warning of severe weather events can be heard through many channels including television, radio, web, and cellular, and is a sound that many Saskatchewan residents are familiar with this summer.

Environment and Climate Change Canada said there is a method to the alerts being sent out so often.

For television and radio, the alerts cover the entire broadcast region, even if a region is not experiencing severe weather.

“It will go out to areas that are not directly in the path (of the weather) and not experiencing severe weather or at risk of severe weather,” said Ken Macdonald, executive director of national programs for the Meteorological Service of Canada.

Macdonald added that mobile coverage is much more precise, however Environment and Climate Change Canada do not control the cell towers' range of service that provide the alerts.

“And if the cell tower is in that zone, or its signal reaches into that zone, then theoretically, that cell tower should be triggered. And that's of course controlled by the way it's configured by each of the cell providers is not controlled by us but certainly,  you know, there will be spillover of the alert,” said Macdonald.

The goal is saving lives and Macdonald said protecting even one person, means the alert has served its purpose.

“What makes me msot satisfied in terms of us doing our jobs is that people were anticipating the possibility and so they knew there was a watch out or they knew there was a warning out,” he said.

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Regina residents have said they prefer as many alerts as necessary to ensure public safety.

“I think it's good to be prepared ahead of time so I like the idea of the alerts coming in to make us aware of what's potentially coming,” said Dan Topper who lives in Regina.

“I think it's good because people don't pay attention,” said Hitchens. “When they hear this, then they know enough to at least go and look and see what's going on.”

Macdonald said that technology is improving when it comes to mobile coverage of emergency alerts and most alerts do not go out more than once for a specific area.

Macdonald added families should always have a plan when active weather is present