OVIEDO, Fla. -- The city of Oviedo is installing the state's first sirens to warn of potential tornado touchdowns during severe weather.

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MAP: See Siren Locations

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Officials said Oviedo is adding at least eight tornado sirens at strategic locations in the region at a cost of about $175,000.

"I think that they wanted to step out on the cutting edge and be the first to take the initiative and bite the bullet so to speak and invest in such a system," Oviedo Fire Chief Lars White said.

The sirens are in response to the Feb. tornadoes that killed 21 people in Lake County and come days after a recent twister confirmed in Eustis.

Officials said the sirens should only be used as a last resort.

"We still want them to have NOAA weather alert radios in their homes," White said. "We still want them to watch the weather and news media to receive text and e-mail alerts and any system out there that will provide them with emergency alerting notification."

Oviedo can expect regular siren testing on the first Saturday of each month at noon for one minute.

Testing will only occur on days when the weather is clear.

Seminole County said the cost of providing weather radios to each home would be double the cost of adding the sirens.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.