‘We’re Not Touching a Bridge’: How Fox Weather’s Storm-Chasing Team Stayed Safe During ‘Downright Scary’ Hurricane

The Fox Weather team moves around Florida in a vehicle known, aptly, as the Fox Weather Beast. The Ford F-250 storm-chasing vehicle has a 385 horse-powered V8 engine and a chassis modified with front steel bumpers, integrated winch, tubular push bar and structural bed-cap. In the driver’s seat is Fox Weather correspondent Robert Ray , who has been reporting on the ground as Hurricanes Milton and Helene barreled down on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

At one point, during coverage of Helene, Ray’s team, 19-miles inland, considered moving to southern Taylor County in anticipation of landfall. It was too dangerous. They opted instead to strategically remain in safer zones, like neighborhoods that offer some degree of natural protection as the storm continued to worsen.

Ray said: “We were looking deeply into reporting live from Steinhatchee upon the landfall. Had many discussions this morning with executives and meteorologists… with the potential for up to 20 feet of storm surge, even though we found the highest ground there, it was not worth the risk.”

The decision to move inland also reflects Fox Weather’s stringent safety protocols, which are outlined in training to its reporters.

What kind of protocols, for example? “No bridge, no bridge. That is one of our rules here with this team. We’re not touching a bridge,” Ray said.

“If America’s Weather team is ever in a scenario where there’s no power, the Fox Weather Beast is packed with its own cellular transmission and IP satellite equipment,” an executive at Fox Weather explained to Mediaite. The aim is uninterrupted coverage even in the worst conditions.

During broadcasts Ray’s photographer filmed out of the back of this vehicle to help keep the shot up and shield him from the conditions.

When reporting the news from the frontlines during the fury of a hurricane or extreme storm, journalists find themselves in dual roles: delivering life-saving information to the public while also directly confronting the storm’s effects themselves.

The challenges from on-the-ground conditions are as dangerous for reporters as they are the public, facing relentless wind and driving rain as well as the threat of a storm surge, all of which can completely change the map of coverage.

For Fox Weather, the operation requires a strategic decision-making effort and live research that reaches up through the ranks to the top of the news organization. Despite the audacious scenes that play out on the air of cable news networks, safety is the guiding principle.

Speaking to Mediaite, an executive at the network outlined how Fox Weather’s response to Hurricane Milton involved a backfield multi-disciplinary group of experts and executives. The team, launched in October 2021, now includes some of the most highly experienced meteorologists in the business, like Mike Seidel , a new hire from The Weather Channel, and Bob Van Dillen . Other big hires have included hurricane specialist Bryan Norcross .

Preparation isn’t just a precaution; it’s a matter of survival for reporters in these high-stakes situations. Journalists must be fully equipped before venturing into the chaos—because one wrong and unpredictable moment can put anyone on the team in serious danger. At one point, during live broadcast, Ray was almost hit by a falling tree.

Ray told the story: “I had just got done with a live report where I was showing the Manatee River which is right beyond this tree and walked into my vehicle, looked at my phone and all of the sudden, boom, the tree goes into the vehicle [we were using] where [cameraman] Lloyd is, he had the camera lens covered so the spray and debris didn’t hit it. We didn’t capture the moment, but you see the aftermath.”

Reporters from other networks had equally close calls, including CNN’s Anderson Cooper who was hit by an unidentified square-shaped object while reporting live.

With the threat of power outages and flying debris, Fox Weather teams are kitted out with helmets, goggles, food supplies and gasoline. They also had communication devices to allow them to stay in constant contact with their team, including i-Sat phones and Starlink antennas.

All said, no matter how much preparation a team has, the bottom line is that frontline reporting requires grit. As Ray put it on Wednesday night: “It’s just downright scary.”