Expert Details

Forensic Meteorology and Severe Weather Event Reconstruction

ID: 726271 New York, USA

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Dick has nearly four decades of training and experience using radar operationally to provide flooding and severe weather warnings to the public. The latter decade of that training and experience was on the National Weather Service's Doppler Weather Radar system. Specifically he has issued radar based warnings in parts of 11 different states in the eastern half of the United States and managed weather warning programs at three seperate Weather Service offices. That background has given him the skill to spot signatures of tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and excessive precipitation at a glance on a cluttered radar display. He has the knowledge and training to inperpret all of the various precipitation and wind velocity fields observed by the doppler radar.

Dick began using his accrued skills and expertise in the field of meteorology to create forensic meteorological reconstructions under the tuteledge of a veteran forensic meteorologist in late 2006. His broad knowledge of meteorology, meteorological data and meteorological instrumentation acquired over a 38 year government weather career, combined with his extensive public writing and speaking opportunities in leadership positions over the latter half of that government career, gave him the ability to quickly grasp the basics of this new application of his skills. Since 2006, Dick has worked on over 200 forensic cases, a number of which have come to trial and required court testimony. Dick's written reports are clear and concise, rarely exceeding two pages, while clearly describing the pertinent facts. His ability to describe complex meteorological concepts in plain English has served his clients well in the courtroom.

Working for a defendant's attorney in a federal court case, I was able to identify a strong downburst with winds in excess of 60 mph immediately adjacent to the damage location, significantly mitigating the defendant's liability.Working for a client with wind sensitive outdoor operations, I was able to provide windows of favorably low wind in advance so the client could save money by only deploying teams when winds would be favorable.Working for an insurance company, I was able to provide wind direction and speed, as well as approximate wave heights at the time and location of a past boating accident, helping them to determine their liability.Working with a plaintiff's attorney, I was able to show that ice on which their client slipped and fell predated the snow flurries falling at the time of the accident, underscoring the defendant's liability.Working with a defendant's attorney, I was able to show that after a long period of very cold temperatures deep frost in the ground meant that rain falling at the time of the accident would freeze on contact with the sidewalk surface, even though air temperatures were in the mid to upper 30s, thus limiting the defendant's liability.

Education

Year Degree Subject Institution
Year: 1988 Degree: B.A. Subject: meteorology & computer science Institution: Marshall University

Work History

Years Employer Title Department
Years: 2004 to Present Employer: Undisclosed Title: President Department:
Responsibilities:
Certified Consulting Meteorologist, providing forensic research, court testimony and custom forecasting.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 1994 to 2004 Employer: NOAA, National Weather Service Title: Warning Coordination Meteorologist Department: Albany, NY Forecast Office
Responsibilities:
Managed service and warning programs within the office, served as the external spokesperson for the office and liaison with local government within the portions of four states served by the office as well as serving as the primary Weather Service contact person for New York state government agencies.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 1988 to 1994 Employer: NOAA, National Weather Service Title: Meteorologist In Charge Department: Duluth, MN Local Service Office
Responsibilities:
Overall manager and supervisor for a local service office providing weather services to Northern Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin as well as a section of Lake Superior the size of the state of Maine.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 1973 to 1988 Employer: NOAA, National Weather Service Title: Meteorological Technician/Supervisory Meteorological Technician Department: offices in West Virginia, Illinois and Florida
Responsibilities:
Served as a surface weather observer, upper air weather observer and radar operator in a series of positions of increasing complexity, culminating in five years as Official In Charge of the local warning and data acquisition office in Huntington, WV. Using G.I. Bill financing, worked on college courses throughout this period, culminating in a B.A. degree at Marshall University in 1988.
Years Employer Title Department
Years: 1966 to 1973 Employer: U.S. Air Force Title: Weather Technician/Chief Observer Department: weather stations in Korea, Germany and Florida
Responsibilities:
Trained as an observer, map plotter and radar operator, then climbed the Weather Technician career ladder in rapid order, culminating in a final military assignment as Chief Observer for the weather detachment at McCoy Field in Orlando Florida

Additional Experience

Expert Witness Experience
After retiring from government service in 2004, I established my own consulting firm and went through the American Meteorological Society certification process to earn Certified Consulting Meteorologist (Expert) recognition in March, 2006. Then, under the tutelage of a nationally recognized forensic meteorologist and fellow Expert, I was able to learn to apply my extensive meteorological knowledge and experience to the forensic arena. I average about 30 cases per year since then, serving plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of local state and federal court cases, from severe storm assessment to wrongful death to slip and fall cases. I have also served insurance companies looking for storm verification and marine weather reconstructions.

Career Accomplishments

Associations / Societies
Member, National Council of Industrial Meteorologists
Member, American Meteorological Society Member, National Weather Association, Member ECOS: The Environmetal Clearinghouse of Schenectady, NY
Tutor, Hudson Mohawk chapter, Literacy Volunteers of America
Licenses / Certifications
American Meteorological Society Certified Consulting Meteorologist (Certificate # 632)

Fields of Expertise

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