Weather Tech: Mobile Weather Lab

New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - There is an important piece of weather technology that isn't tied to the News 8 weather center, and it offers a unique perspective that keeps viewers in-the-know by going on the road.

For five years the Mobile Weather Lab has been an essential part of News 8, taking the knowledge of our team to people curious about how weather ticks.

"There's a good outreach to the community," Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Gil Simmons said. "We can cover storms not just from inside a studio."

It's a unique representation of the work that goes into putting together a forecast.

"This has everything we would need -- that includes Internet access," Simmons said. "It has awesome graphics. We can show radar, satellite we can even show the temperature of the Sound."

Many would think that during a storm staying inside is your best bet. But to get accurate weather reports we hit the road, bringing viewers inside our world.

"We've been live with snowstorms, we've been live with windstorms and rainstorms," Simmons said. "We are able to show viewers at home changing conditions minute to minute, second to second."

But the lab is not only for weather forecasting. It's a tool for teaching.

"There's a lot of oohs and ahhhs when the kids look at these instruments on the roof."

From the lighted sign to the lab's instruments, it's a highlight of any visit.

"It's a great teaching tool for not only students but a lot of teachers learn a lot about what's going on with the different instruments we have, and that we can take to any school anywhere in the state."

From humidity to wind speeds to temperature and air pressure, the elements that help predict the weather are at their fingertips.

"They can see it, they can reach out and in some cases than can touch the equipment here in the Weather Lab. "It's much more than just reading weather out of a book."

But the instruments that lay on top of the Mobile Weather Lab have their own allure.

There's an anemometer which measures wind.

A small contraption that Simmons says looks like a giant pinecone holds instruments that measure air temperature, moisture and pressure.

And there's a gauge that measures rainfall.

"This whole set up stays on the roof set up so we have minimal time of having to set a big display," Simmons said. "We just have to turn computers on and start pulling information from instruments like that anemometer non-stop."

What lies inside the lab also impresses. Computers and large screens that show graphical stuff -- radar or satellite images. "We can use this for severe weather tracking and analysis," Simmons said.

The technology tracks off-shore as well from water temperatures to water movement.

"We can track the waves out there so if we were working alongside with a boating community, a yacht club or even the Coast Guard, we can talk about what type of wave heights are out there."

And although the technology will continue to get better, the all-important tools in the pursuit of an accurate forecast are in place.

"I think we will have the cutting edge of mobile weather technology for many years ahead," Simmons said.

We've seen how the marriage between technology and experience works. It's important, considering what may be in store for us this summer.