Operations Division
Current operations
Field deployment runs on three plain statuses and a short monitoring stack. Nothing complicated, nothing theatrical.
Current status
Standby
Conditions are being monitored. NWO-01 is field-ready and will deploy when conditions justify observation and documentation.
Status system
Standby. Deployed. Terminated.
That's the whole system. When more vehicles join the fleet, it can expand.
STANDBY
Weather potentially warrants monitoring. Personnel monitor NWS products, SPC outlooks, radar, the mesoscale environment, and local observations. No field deployment.
DEPLOYED
Conditions justify field observation and documentation. NWO-01 deploys with a defined objective: observe, document, report — in that order, and only when safe.
TERMINATED
Mission ends. The vehicle returns, media is backed up, and a field report is written and archived. Every deployment terminates; none end unreported.
Monitoring
What we watch
SPC outlooks
Storm Prediction Center Day 1–3 convective outlooks and mesoscale discussions.
NWS products
Watches, warnings, and forecast discussions from the local National Weather Service office.
Radar & mesoscale
Radar trends, thermodynamics, and the mesoscale environment — watched continuously during active setups.
Local observations
Ground truth from established spotter networks and our own field observations.
Vehicle
NWO-01 — Field observation vehicle
The organization reflects reality: honest equipment, honest markings, sized to the work.
- Designation
- NWO-01
- Platform
- Nissan Rogue
- Role
- Field observation
- Markings
- Removable field-observer magnet
- Lighting
- Minimal auxiliary — visible, not theatrical
- Policy
- Michigan lighting rules verified before installation
Field media
No imagery captured yet
No field photography or video has been taken yet. Vehicle and field imagery will be published only once real deployments produce it — nothing staged, nothing stock.
Equipment doctrine
Cheap, capable, honest
The kit is intentionally small. Skills come before hardware.
- Reflective vest & roadside emergency equipmentOn hand
- Basic weather radioOn hand
- Phone mount and charging setupOn hand
- Media storage and backupOn hand
- Basic first-aid equipmentOn hand
- Tripod / monopodOn hand
The phone is the first storm camera
No camera makes someone a storm chaser. Composition, exposure, stabilization, positioning, and documentation come first — better equipment is earned with better footage, not bought in advance.