You may notice your coworkers a little bit more bleary-eyed than usual this morning.
Officials with Seminole County warned residents not to turn off emergency alerts on their cell phones after an accidental test alert rang out across Central Florida at 4:45 a.m.
Central Florida residents hopped on social media Thursday morning complaining that the high-pitched ring had awoken them from deep sleep in the early morning hours.
An email from Seminole County Public Communications Coordinator Ally Linville sent at about 10 a.m. asked residents to keep alerts on.
“Misinformation is circulating regarding this morning’s accidental alert from the State of Florida and a schedule of future test alerts,” the email read. “Residents will NOT receive monthly emergency alert tests from the state going forward.”
Linville explained that the state accidentally used a “live” screen instead of the usual “test” screen when it sent the alert.
In asking residents to keep alerts on, Linville said, “This is the fastest way to receive tornado warnings, evacuation alerts or news about hazardous materials events.”