Request Of The Month 2008

April:  "Three home owners are claiming roof hail damage in the same general area.  Could you find the size of the hail within a 5-mile radius of the addresses of interest."

March:  "We are investigating a night time pedestrian vs. auto.  The pedestrian claims the driver should have seen the victim from a full moon with clear skies.  We need the location of the moon in the sky at the incident time, the moon phase, and cloud cover in the region."

February:  "A person fell claiming that 'black ice' covered a sidewalk after snow melt water re-froze and should have been salted.  Temperatures are needed to prove if snowmelt water actually was frozen or just wet on the sidewalk."

January:  "A business sign fell off its hinges onto a passing pedestrian.  We are trying to find out if the hinges failed because of high winds or just old age.  Please send wind speeds in the area along with any wind advisories and other damage that might have been reported on the incident date."

Request Of The Month 2007-

December:  "Several people have slipped and fallen at the same location, but on different dates.  We need detailed weather information for each date in question including geography of the region to see if this location is conducive to abnormal snow accumulation."

 

November:  "We need to find out if any hail was reported in or around the county of our insured's home since their policy started.  Please give us a search from the present back to 1999."

 

October:  "A contractor opted to replace our home owner's roof during the potential for severe thunderstorms.  A thunderstorm went over the home ripping protective tarp off allowing heavy rain to swamp the home's interior.  Could you find out how much advance notice of the oncoming storm the contractor might have had."

 

September:  "An outdoor restaurant table umbrella was lifted by a wind gust and tossed onto a patron.  The patron is suing.  Could you forward us information on wind speeds, directions, and if wind advisories were posted."

 

August:  "Two teenagers were struck by a motorist and killed while riding a scooter at dusk.  Please tell us the sky and moon conditions and just how dark it was at the accident time."

 

July:  "The electrical system of our claimant's automobile was supposedly disabled from a solar flare.  Is that possible and was there any unusual solar activity on the loss date."

 

June:  "A gentleman is claiming heat exhaustion and medical expenses from working all day in unusually hot weather.  Could you give us the hourly temperatures, heat index, and any heat advisories for our date in question."

 

May:  "We need to examine approximately 50 addresses for damage from a catastrophic hail storm.  Please provide hail reports showing size of hail for each address of interest."

 

April:  "Water pipes burst in a home while the owners were away for the winter.  We need to know when freezing temperatures happened from October 2006 through March 2007 in the area with the results plotted on a graph."

 

March:  "A tornado derailed 50 cars of a freight train.  Can you provide us with the times of any watches and warnings that were issued before the tornado struck."

 

February:  "A driver slid off the highway onto to the median then into oncoming traffic causing a major pile-up.  We need to find out if the highway was snow covered and if windy conditions may have caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle."

 

January:  "We had a major storm in the Pacific Northwest a couple of years ago that kept our employees from coming to work.  Send us all the information you have on that storm including the time the storm began and ended."

Request Of The Month 2006

December:  "A new construction building frame suffered partial collapse.  We need to know the wind conditions on the date this happened."

 

November:  "There have been multiple hail claims this summer in our county.  Could you create a map of all hail reports in this region with the hail sizes and dates from March through September?"

 

October:  "A home owner was not at his residence for 3 months.  The owner is claiming that lightning damaged appliances, but doesn't know when.  We need a daily lightning search for the period in question."

 

September:  "Hurricane Lane struck Mexico on the 16th.  We have clients in the area and need wind speed information along with landfall location maps."

 

August:  "Our insured thinks a meteor hit his home.  The fire department was called and confirmed that an 8" diameter hole was evident from the roof through the first level.  No meteorite was found.  Could have this been weather-related?"

 

July:  "A driver is claiming that fog hindered vision causing an accident.  Were fog alerts issued and what was the visibility at the time in question?"

 

June:  "We have a city sewer system that backed up and flooded several homes.  How much rain fell in the area and was the amount unusually heavy?"

 

May:  "A recreational vehicle was stopped at a traffic light when lightning allegedly hit near the vehicle.  The vehicle was driven an additional 30-miles when a flat tire was discovered.  The tire had wood chips embedded within it and various electrical components were also found to be damaged.  Could the lightning have caused this?"

 

April:  "A home owner is claiming hail damage and we know large hail fell on the date in question, but we think the owner acquired coverage after the storm passed.   Can you tell us the precise time the hail fell at the claimant's address?"

 

March:  "We're investigating an auto accident where one party is claiming that blinding sun obscured the driver's vision.  The other driver says it was cloudy and sunshine was not an issue.  Please tell us where the sun was in the sky at the accident time and if there were any clouds in the area."

 

February:  "The home construction of a famous rock star has been plagued by numerous delays.  Can you give us daily rain/snow amounts and tell us if the amounts were above or below normal for the region over a 2-year period?"

 

January:  "Two people capsized their canoe on a local lake.  Neither could make it back to shore.  Please provide us with temperature, wind chill, wind information, and weather forecasts."

Request Of The Month 2005-

December:  "A driver slid into the path of an oncoming vehicle.  The driver claims an unexpected burst of snow covered what were previously dry roads.  Can you confirm or deny this statement for us?"

 

November:  "We have a semi that swerved into a car on the highway.  What were the wind speeds and which way was the wind blowing around the accident time?"

 

October:  "Construction scaffolding collapsed at a site overnight.  We are trying to determine if the scaffolding was improperly built or if a thunderstorm caused the failure."

September:  "A tree fell over resulting in a fatality.  Could you forward us all of the weather conditions on the incident date."

August:  "We are investigating a house fire and think it was arson; but, one of the neighbors did hear thunder on the night in question.  Could you help us determine whether or not lightning played a role in the fire?"

July:  "A tree limb damaged a vehicle in a neighbor's driveway.  Were there any storms in the area that might have caused the limb to break?"

June:  "A wide-screen television stopped working after lightning allegedly caused a power surge to the house.  Was lightning observed near the home owner's address on the date in question?"

May:  "Our insured is claiming roof hail damage, but doesn't know when the damage happened.  Please provide a report that shows where hail was observed near his address over a 6-month period."

April:  "One of our leased vehicles caught on fire.  The lessee had been operating the vehicle in 4-wheel low drive for several hours before the fire.  What were the weather conditions along the driver's route and was the road snow packed?"

March:  "We have a slip & fall claim and need to know if this person was warned of bad weather by the media before going out to buy refreshments during a snow storm.  Were any weather advisories posted at the time of the fall?"

February:  "A vehicle with its driver was found submerged in a river 2 weeks after the driver was reported missing.  Could or could not have weather played a role?"

January:  "A neighbor is claiming that embers from our insured's trash fire caught the neighbor's house on fire.  Please give us a report that includes wind speed, wind direction, humidity, and rainfall at our loss location over a 48-hour period."

Request Of The Month 2004-

December:  "We are at issue over a roof collapse.  Did bad weather cause the collapse as claimed?"

November:  "Our insured states while driving across the desert his vehicle paint was sand-blasted by sand being blown into his path from high winds.  Can you determine wind speed in the middle of nowhere?"

October:  "A jogger was struck by a vehicle.  The sun allegedly blinded the driver.  Where was the sun in the sky at the accident site and were there any clouds?"

September:  "Please provide details on hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne then put your findings on a private web page so our adjusters can access the reports anytime nationwide."

August:  "Heavy rains are being claimed for collapsing a wall which allowed water to flood a neighboring structure's basement.  How much rain fell for the month, was the amount above average, and were flood advisories issued on the loss date?"

July:  "A high school football player is alleging dehydration during practice.   Please provide temperature, humidity, heat index, and any heat advisories that may have been issued."

June:  "A person fell this winter and states the area should have been shoveled  because it was snowing lightly.  Another witness say's it was snowing heavily.  Can you determine how much snow fell over a 1-hour period at this location?"

May:  "We're getting hail claims that seem to be peppered around a 90-mile area. Can you provide a graphic showing the hail paths over a 2-day period?"

April:  "A wall collapsed that was under construction.  Were wind advisories issued on the date in question?"

March:  "Our insured states their horse 'dropped dead' during the night and are claiming that lightning struck the animal.  Please investigate."

February:  "Fog is an issue in a multi-vehicle accident that resulted in fatalities.   Was the fog widespread or just isolated to our accident area?"

January:  "A person fell after a snow storm.  There was also a period of freezing rain.  Can you tell us how long the freezing rain fell before changing to snow?"

Request Of The Month 2003-

December:  "High winds exacerbated forest fires in Colorado this October.  There are no official National Weather Service wind observation sites around the areas that we are interested in.  Is there any way to find wind information from non-official weather sites?"

November:  "A delivery person claimed a slip and fall on ice after a warm day caused snow to melt then re-freeze at the time of the delivery.  Can you determine the hourly temperatures on the fall date?"

October:  "A home owner says a 'bolt from the blue' struck and damaged a metal fence.  The owner stated isolated showers were in the area mixed with blue skies.   A clap of thunder was heard with the strike.  No other thunder was heard before and after the strike.  Is it possible to identify the location of 1 lightning bolt?"

September:  "Windy weather allegedly caused a driver to lose control and swerve off the highway into a house.  Home owners say it was not windy.  Can you prove or disprove the drivers claim?"

August:  "A worker was electrocuted while guiding a flag pole for installation.  The crane operator claimed winds caused the pole to contact power lines.  What was the hourly wind speed and direction on this day?"

July:  "How much rain fell and what were the peak winds in New Orleans when Tropical Storm 'Bill' came ashore?"

June:  "A fatal auto accident happened about an hour after sunset.  Could dew have formed on road surfaces by then?"

May:  "Our insured says he drove through a hail storm that damaged his auto.  Did hail fall on the highway at the location he claimed?"

April:  "A person fell at a bank claiming recent rain made the bank entrance slippery.  Did weather radar images show it raining at this location?"

March:  "The roof of an arena collapsed after heavy snow.  What was the weight of the water content of the snow?"

February:  "A recreational motorcyclist was injured when he lost control jumping his bike.  Could winds have played a role in the mishap?"

January:  "A construction crane toppled on a Monday after supposedly heavy weekend rainfall saturated ground beneath the crane.  How much rain fell and was it an unusually high amount?"

Request Of The Month 2002-

December:  "Our client is being sued for allegedly not recognizing the heat stroke potential on a day this summer.  We are trying to find if comparable heat has happened during the client's career.  Can you give us the daily high temperature for July, August, and September during a 14 year period?"

November:  "An auto accident happened over an hour after sunset.  What was the cloud cover and could have there been any surface illumination from twilight at the time in question?"

October:  "A tornado recently caused extensive damage in our county.  Can you provide a graphic of its path?"

September:  "An electrician states a satellite dish was damaged from lightning and we haven't had rain in weeks.  Was there lightning?"

August:  "A football player collapsed and died at practice.  What was heat index prior to and at the time of the incident?"

July:  "A 5.0 magnitude earthquake happened 160 miles from our insured's address.  Could moderate structural damage have occurred here?"

June:  "Was damaging hail observed at this address on June 2nd?"

May:  "How many hail storms have happened in our city since 1996?"

April:  "A homicide suspect states it was raining too hard for him to cross the street and commit the act during the time in question.  Was it raining?"

March:  "A land owner claims water runoff from a structure on the hill above him created a sink hole on his property.  Was the period in question unusually wet?"

February:  "An empty beer keg was blown off the loading dock of a liquor store allegedly injuring a pedestrian.  How windy was it?"

January:  "A tree limb fell on our insured's car.  How heavy is 5 inches of snow per square foot?"

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