VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — It’s a gadget the city of Virginia Beach never knew they needed until now. The Perry Weather Mobile Forecast and Information Gathering Device promises to make public events safer. And with both festival season and hurricane season here, it’s a top priority.

“It all started out with the tornado that hit right after Something in the Water Festival,” says
Andy Bowden, Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Management Disaster Response and Recovery project manager.

Through its app system with instantaneous push alerts, the public can be warned about imminent severe weather at a precise location. This will also be done using an emergency siren strobe light.

“So, when I turn on a mobile weather service for Perry, it gives us the exact weather right where we’re standing,” Bowden said. “And the good thing with that is that it also has the lightning rods on it. So, it gives us a diameter of like eight miles or 10 miles out.”

Bowden says the city of Norfolk is next in line to install the new weather equipment.

“Once they saw what we’re doing, they’re getting on the bandwagon because they have all their events like, well, Harborfest and stuff like that as well,” says Bowden. “But we’re the first ones that are groundbreaking it for the area.”

So far, The Perry Weather Device has been tested at Point Break Music Festival and the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon. The city plans to add up to five more units in multiple areas.

The Perry Weather Mobile Forecast and Information Gathering Device is funded through grants and city matching.