1 Year Anniversary

It has been almost 1 year since my stint as a WNYT Meteorologist ended. But pursuing my Forensic Meteorology business full-time was the best thing I ever could have done. I started the business 6 years ago...knowing that the TV biz was going to hell in a hand basket then and now. And I sure wasn't one who wanted to work weekends, early mornings and holidays for my entire life. Not being able to vacation on February break or in December with my family...nuh uh...not my cup of tea. I really think the final straw to build a successful business was when the stubborn Hubbards just about locked out the Ch. 13 Union members. I couldn't believe then or now that these people could be so insensitive. I mean suck it up, your making oodles and oodles of money despite what Steve Baboulis and Paul Conti tell you. I'd look at them, smile politely and think, yeah right. Hubbard should let the employees AT LEAST get a cost of living raise. Don't lock them out because we didn't want to accept a 0% raise. I'd hate to see how greedy the Hubbard Corp. will be with the next contract negotiation. If I learned one thing from that experience, it was watch your own back because they will bite you.

But now I am in my little happy place. My Forensic work day begins at 7:00 AM and ends around 7:00 PM, Monday through Friday. It's easy to take off Friday's in the summer-time because most attorneys and judges take off also. The same is true for most holidays.

Many people wonder if my Forensic business is a full-time job? Absolutely. In an average year, I work on approximately 150 new cases from all across the United States. This year I added the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and Cancun, Mexico to the mix of areas where accidents occurred for which I was retained. Working in this business is pretty fascinating. I have worked on all kinds of cases, ranging from rape and murder cases to construction delays, crop dusting drifts, arsons, floods, car accidents and Hurricane claims. I just recently finished a case in Gulf Shores...the same area that just got hit again. I'm wondering if the same claim is going to be submitted? "Did the wind speed reach a certain MPH they were rated for to cause the windows to break out of this building or not." My answer will help determine whether an enormous insurance payoff is due or not.

Some of my other work is for criminal cases. Since I had testified in murder trials before, I was a natural for Court TV and the Scott Peterson case. You can see the video clip on my company website. Www.WeatherConsultants.Com. I wasn't actually part of the criminal case, but I was on their show 2 times as their weather expert. Several months ago I was also a consultant for Forensic Files and for CSI. I participated in roundtable discussions with the producers and writers of CSI in California regarding some cases that I thought would be worthy of an episode. There was 1 that they loved...so we'll see what happens. Of course, I offered to come out their for a walk on role as the weather expert. If they don't bite on this one you might see me write a book about it??

That's the bread and butter of what I do now. I hope you have found it interesting and enlightening.

Category 5 Hurricane Katrina Heading For New Orleans-10am Sunday

Well, things are looking even more dangerous than before. The Hurricane Hunters just flew into Katrina and found wind speeds of 160 MPH at the surface. This makes Katrina a Category 5 hurricane...the strongest on the scale. This also makes Katrina the most powerful hurricane ever in the Gulf of Mexico. As a Meteorologist, I am extremely impressed with Hurricane Katrina because of the way the storm is strengthening. It is unfortuante but there will be serious loss of life on the Gulf Coast where the Hurricane makes landfall. The damage should be at least as bad if not worse than Hurricane Andrew that struck Homestead, Florida years ago. The National Hurricane Center is even saying this will be a catastrophic Hurricane. We know that most homes, trees and structures will be completely wiped out where Katrina makes landfall, but we can only hope that people heed the warnings and move WELL inland. The levees of Lake Ponchatrain along with the storm surge is expected to inundate New Orleans under 25 feet of water, possibly. This would wipe out a lot of the city. Factoring in the wind speeds of 160 MPH with gusts to 190 MPH, things are not looking good.

The scariest part of this is that all of the computer models continue to show the strongest hurricane I have ever seen heading directly toward New Orleans. I've seen a lot of storms over the years, but this is scary. It is off the chart in strength. In any case, Katrina is expected to plow inland during the day Monday as a Cat 4 or Cat 5 hurricane. I understand that the National Hurricane Center personally called the mayor of New Orleans to say that he is extremely concerned about this one.

Last evening, some BUOY's in the Gulf were measuring wave heights as high as 32.5 feet. No doubt they are even higher than that now. Not only will the Hurricane devastate the New Orleans and coastal Mississippi/Alabama areas with flooding and extreme wind damage, but Katrina is also moving right over the oil drilling rigs in the gulf. They ceased operations yesterday. This is called the "LOOP". The LOOP is the main terminal in the gulf that transports oil via pipeline to over 50% of the United States' oil carriers. Having this shut down (and potentially damaged) has a huge impact on gas prices. You thought they were high before?!?!

Here are some interesting websites to look at as Hurricane Katrina Bears down on New Orleans. It's not going to be a pretty ride for the folks down there and we need to keep them in our prayers.

Live TV Feed from New Orleans: (Click Here)

Latest Hurricane Track Map: (Click Here)

Latest Hurricane Advisory: (Click Here)

Latest Doppler Radar Loop from New Orleans: (Click Here)

Latest Satellite Loop of Katrina: (Click Here)

Latest Warnings/Statements from Louisiana: (Click Here)

Holy Lightning Batman

This awesome Cloud to Ground (C-G) Lightning photo courtesy of spaceweathercom. http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/18aug05/young1.jpg

Just When You Thought You've Seen It All

I recently was retained on a case where a stripper slipped on the wet floor as she was finishing her performance at a strip club. As she came down the pole, she slipped on a puddle of water that was on the dance floor and broke her ankle. Apparently the strippers had complained about roof leaks in the past but they were never fixed. After checking the weather records, we found that it had recently rained and that it was enough to cause a water accumulation. Needless to say, this "career ending" accident will likely cost someone some serious money. Lets see...approximately $150,000 per year times 10 more years. You do the math.

Hello and Welcome!!

Forensic Weather Files & More

This is the new blog for my company, Forensic Weather Consultants. More to come shortly.