forensic meteorology and weather reconstructions

Forensic meteorology is the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting atmospheric data in support of insurance claim investigations, civil and criminal trials, and environmental regulatory actions. It has been described as “the art of combining the science of meteorology and the practice of law”.

Weather conditions on specific days at specific times are “reconstructed” by collecting standard weather observations, assembling and interpreting weather radar and satellite imagery, processing weather data taken by a party in the case, and locating nonstandard sources of data such as lightning ground strike reports or atmospheric data taken by other monitoring networks.

These data sources, along with the meteorologist’s own knowledge and experience are then used to produce a comprehensive analysis of meteorological facts pertinent to the case at hand. This analysis is provided to insurance companies and legal firms in the form of an expert report.

Some of the subjects that we have investigated include:

  • Lightning occurrence
  • Sources of localized wind damage
  • Visibility restrictions (fog, smoke)
  • Issues pertaining to wildfire suppression

Leading our staff of expert forensic meteorologists is Beverly Archibald, who is one of only 38 nationally recognized CMOS Accredited Consulting Meteorologists. She has acted as the meteorological expert witness in a number of multi-million dollar litigations as well as having provided numerous expert reports to various insurance investigations.

True North Weather Consulting offers a variety of services to assist legal and insurance professionals. These services range from simple telephone consultations to get you going in the right direction to detailed and demanding courtroom testimony. Specifically, we can assist your organization with the following:

  • Data acquisition and analysis including surface weather, satellite and radar, lightning.
  • Statistical and climatological analysis Detailed written reports; expert witness reports.
  • Expert witness testimony.