Subject(s): meteorology
Title: Forensic Meteorology
Hi, I'm Dave Thurlow and this is The Weather Notebook. Oftentimes in the court room, lawyers call for special witnesses to help their cases, like psychologists, scientists, DNA experts.and even meteorologists.
Kevin Williams: "Well, I look at it as being a weather sleuth."
That's forensic meteorologist Kevin Williams of Weather-Track, Incorporated in Rochester NY. Besides his duties as a TV and radio meteorologist, Kevin Williams is often hired as a weather expert in the courtroom. Now most cases ask for proof that the weather was what the litigants say it was on the day of an accident, an icy slip and fall accident or a motorist claiming to be blinded by sunlight when they hit the other car. But sometimes the cases aren't as obvious.
Kevin: "There was a young boy struck by a pitched ball in a park and the question was, was there sufficient ambient lighting to allow that ball game to be played or should the park have been closed."
And Mr. Williams' cases can deal with very serious matters.
Kevin: "We've dealt with cases where there was a question again of ambient lighting that led to a death and we had to determine whether or not the glare from sunlight on a wet road surface would have been sufficient to limit the visibility at a certain height going up a hill to see a truck that had been parked slightly off the road but not completely off the road. So, there are these issues that deal with deadly serious matters and that do sometimes get very involved."
And thanks to today's improved technology, things like Doppler radar and the internet, it's a lot easier for Kevin and others in the field forensic meteorology to gather the necessary data they need in court.
For information on Kevin Williams and forensic meteorology, check out our web site at weathernotebook.org. Our show is underwritten by Subaru, the beauty of all wheel drive with major support provided by the National Science Foundation.