Al Roker will try to beat the Guinness World Record for longest uninterrupted live weather report broadcast, which NBC has dubbed "Rokerthon." He will need to report the forecast for 34 straight hours to break the current 33-hour record held now by Norwegian weather woman, Eli Kari Gjengedal.
The "Today" show reported on Gjengedal's record-breaking broadcast in September, at which time Roker told his morning co-hosts that he would attempt to break that record in November. He confidently accepted the challenge, and even invited Gjengedal to come on the show to "make her cry" when he beats her record.
His broadcast will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 10 p.m. on livestream at Today.com, and will end on Friday, Nov. 14 at 8 a.m. live on "Today." His weather report will span across multiple NBC platforms including "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," NBC's local affiliate newscasts and other programming.
During the broadcast, viewers can submit questions to Roker and ask for their hometown forecasts by tweeting to @alroker and using the hashtag #Rokerthon. The event will support Roker's "Shine a Light TODAY" initiative for the armed forces and the United Service Organizations (USO).
Gjengedal beat the previous record of 24 hours by lasting 33 hours and 19 minutes. The rules allowed her to take a five-minute break every 60 minutes during her forecast. She received a massage during those breaks, and even did some of her broadcast in her pajamas. At the end of her stunt, she received a gold medal and requested to have a beer rather than take a nap.
Roker will report from Studio 1A's green room window at Rockefeller Center in New York.
