F WC FORENSIC WEATHER CONSULTANTS Providing Site-Specific Weather Information, Meteorological Analyses, Expert Reports and Trial Testimony for Claims and Lawsuits Across the United States for More Than 21 Years Www.WeatherConsultants.Com 2 Table of Contents About Forensic Weather Consultants .………………………………..…………………………………….Page 3 Slip and Fall on Snow and Ice Cases ………………………….………..…………………………………….Page 4 Meet the Team……………………………..……………………………………..……………………………………Page 7 Hail, Thunderstorm and Tornado Claims ....…..………….…………...………………………………….Page 9 Hurricane Cases (Wind Speed Studies, or Wind vs. Storm Surge Timing)…………………….Page 10 Court Decision Citing Our Work….. …………………………………………………………………………….Page 15 *All meteorological analyses, opinions, conclusions and written reports are prepared for each specific incident location. Our reports adhere to the Federal Rules of Evidence and are based on sound, scientific principles and practices that meteorologists customarily rely upon. Www.WeatherConsultants.Com I’ve always had a deep love for the weather ever since I was young child, and my life-long dream 3 was to be a Meteorologist. Now more than 40 years later, I run the company I founded in 1999, Forensic Weather Consultants. For decades, numerous insurance carriers, attorneys for both the plaintiff and defense, third-party administrators, engineers, adjusters, contractors, the United States Air Force, Prosecutors and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have turned to us for reliable weather information, detailed meteorological analysis of what occurred, and site-specific written expert reports for their claims, disputes, lawsuits and studies. I am very pleased to say that the growth we’ve experienced over the past 20+ years is a result of very hard work, attention to detail and the trust our clients have placed on us to figure out the weather conditions at some time and place in the past, and how they may or may not have contributed to some incident or accident. If you’d like a reliable weather expert to provide accurate weather information and expert reports for your claims or cases, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Howard Altschule Howard Altschule CEO, Certified Consulting Meteorologist FWC: Experts on Over 6,500 Lawsuits and Insurance Claims Hundreds of appearances on National Radio shows, Fox News, Fox Business News, CNN, The Today Show, MSNBC, FWC: Testified in 115+ Trials and More Than 65 Depositions The Weather Channel, FOX 5, WNBC, Geraldo Rivera Show FWC: A Diverse Team of Meteorological Experts 7+ Years as a TV Meteorologist for NBC Certified Consulting Meteorologists (Highest Certification) Emmy Award Winner - Aftermath of a Tornado Outbreak Always Accepted as Experts in Courts Around the U.S. American Meteorological Society “TV Seal of Approval” Cited in Many Supreme and Federal Court Decisions and Appeals Member - Association of Certified Meteorologists Former Fire Investigator and Deputy Emergency Manager Expert for the United States Air Force - Court Martial Trial Former Captain, Lieutenant, President of Fire Department Appointed to N.Y. Governor’s Homeowners Insurance Panel Www.WeatherConsultants.Com 3 4 SAMPLE SLIP AND FALL ON SNOW AND ICE CASES In order to perform my analysis of the weather conditions that existed, I obtained and reviewed official copies of the following weather records: FORENSIC WEATHER INVESTIGATION OF THE WEATHER AND GROUND CONDITIONS FOR THE PERIOD DECEMBER 7-9, 2016 • National Weather Service 5-Minute and Local Climatological Data AT 120 BROADWAY IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK from the Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey • National Weather Service 5-Minute and Local Climatological Data from the John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York ASSIGNMENT: • Cooperative observer weather station reports from Brooklyn 3.1 NW, This case was assigned to me by Yourtown Corporation. I was asked to New York perform an in-depth weather analysis and forensic weather investigation at • Super-resolution Reflectivity Doppler Radar images from the Upton, 120 Broadway in Brooklyn, New York in order to determine what the New York radar site that were zoomed in over the incident location weather conditions were leading up to and including the incident. • Weather bulletins issued by the National Weather Service METHODOLOGY: In order to accurately determine the weather conditions that existed leading up to and including the time of the incident, a detailed search was ANALYSIS: performed to find the closest, official weather stations to the incident The following table is a summary of the daily weather and ground location. Weather station locations provided by the National Centers for conditions day by day at the location of the incident. This summary Environmental Information (NCEI) and other customary sources were includes the date, the Maximum temperature for the 24 hour period, the plotted and are indicated by a yellow pushpin. These records are normally Minimum temperature for the 24 hour period, the Liquid-Equivalent relied upon by meteorologists to conduct these investigations. precipitation total for the 24 hour period, the amount of snow and sleet that fell during the 24 hour period and the snow and ice depth that was present on the ground at 7:00 a.m. EST (in inches). DECEMBER 2016 Date Maximum Minimum Air Liquid Equivalent Snow/ Snow/ Temperature Temperature Precipitation Sleet Ice On Ground 12/7 36 17 0.00” 0.0” 4.0” 12/8 32 12 0.00” 0.0” 2.0” 12/9 36 29 0.95” Trace + 1.0” Ice Refer to the “Sample Reports” Section of Our Webpage for Full-Length Sample Reports Www.WeatherConsultants.Com 4 5 On December 7th and 8th, 2016, no precipitation fell. Approximately 4.0” DOPPLER RADAR ANALYSIS of old snow/ice was present on exposed, untreated and undisturbed surfaces The following Doppler radar image was processed at 7:15 a.m. EST on on December 7th, 2016 and approximately 2.0” was present on December December 9th, 2016 (the time of the accident) and the incident location is 8th, 2016, in addition to areas of melt/refreeze ice. plotted in the center of the map. This image and area surface observations indicate that light freezing rain was falling at the incident location. DECEMBER 9, 2016 (DAY OF THE INCIDENT) On December 9th, 2016 (day of the incident), Doppler radar images that were zoomed in over the incident location and nearby surface observations indicated that light to occasionally moderate freezing rain fell from approximately 4:15 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. Light to occasionally moderate and heavy rain (which did not freeze on the ground) fell from approximately 12:00 p.m. through 1:19 p.m. (after the accident occurred). The precipitation changed to snow and fell with light to occasionally moderate and heavy intensity from approximately 1:19 p.m. through 2:57 p.m. A coating of snow and a glaze of slippery, dangerous ice approximately 1/10th to 2/10ths of an inch thick accumulated on December 9th, 2016. According to the National Weather Service, “Freezing Rain” is defined as “Rain that falls as a liquid but freezes into glaze upon contact with the NWS BULLETINS, WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES ground.” As the liquid lands on these surfaces, it quickly turns to ice, thus causing a very slippery sheet of ice to form. At 9:59 p.m. on December 8th, 2016, the National Weather Service continued its “Winter Weather Advisory” that was in effect until 11:00 a.m. According to the National Weather Service, the following report of ice on December 9th, 2016. accumulation was received on December 9th, 2016: • ICE ACCUMULATIONS...A TRACE TO ONE TENTH OF AN INCH. • Brooklyn, New York – 0.10” at 9:00 a.m. • SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...1 TO 3 INCHES. Between 7:15-7:30 a.m. EST on December 9th, 2016 (time and date of the • IMPACTS...SNOW AND OR ICE COVERED ROADS AND incident), light freezing rain was falling, ice was actively accumulating, the UNTREATED SURFACES...ESPECIALLY DURING THE MORNING HOURS MAKING FOR HAZARDOUS TRAVEL. temperature was 30 degrees, and a glaze of slippery, dangerous new ice approximately 1/10th-2/10ths of an inch thick accumulated thus far. Www.WeatherConsultants.Com 5 6 TEMPERATURE ANALYSIS FOR DECEMBER 9, 2016 CONCLUSIONS On December 9th, 2016, the high temperature was 36 degrees Fahrenheit • On December 7th, 2016, approximately 4.0” of old snow/ice was and the low temperature was 29 degrees Fahrenheit. The air temperature present on exposed, untreated and undisturbed surfaces. On was above freezing from Midnight through 12:47 a.m. and then dropped December 8th, 2016, approximately 2.0” of old snow/ice was present below freezing from 12:47 a.m. through the remainder of the day. on exposed, untreated and undisturbed surfaces. • Between 7:15-7:30 a.m. EST on December 9th, 2016 (time and date of REVIEW OF PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN AFTER THE INCIDENT the incident), light freezing rain was falling, ice was actively The following photograph was provided to me by defense counsel. I was accumulating, the temperature was 30 degrees, and a glaze of slippery, advised that this photograph was taken approximately 1 hour after the dangerous new ice approximately 1/10th-2/10ths of an inch thick incident when a different person slipped and fell in the crosswalk of this accumulated thus far. roadway. I was further advised that the accident that is the subject of this • In the EBT transcript of Ms. Smith, when she was asked what the slip and fall case occurred on the sidewalk adjacent to the building. Where thickness and color of the ice was that she slipped and fell on, she this accident occurred, a sheen of ice is evident on the sidewalk which is stated “It was black ice, clear, and paper thin” (page 56, line 10). consistent with the 1/10th to 2/10ths of an inch of ice that accumulated.