NBC Connecticut/WVIT went live on Tuesday with its new First Alert 1 vehicle, which the station is billing as “the first-ever weather vehicle equipped with mobile radar built on a custom Jeep Wrangler 4x4.”
With weather being a crucial factor in the popularity of local newscasts, the vehicle is specifically designed to allow meteorologists and reporters to drive directly to the storm and provide live radar, live video and live reports while the truck is moving. It is equipped with live cameras both inside and out of the vehicle.
The mobile radar can see activity up to 36 miles away and inside storm cells more than 19 miles away.
“With First Alert 1, we can provide live forecasts directly from areas being hit the hardest in a storm, allowing us to take news gathering and storm chasing to a whole new level,” said Ric Harris, GM and president of NBC Connecticut. “There is no other vehicle like First Alert 1 on the road and NBC Connecticut is proud to be a weather innovator.”
