Forensic Meteorology

[Lindaloo]

Could science be the answer to a question that's dividing hurricane victims and their insurance companies? The debate is wind versus water and what really damaged houses after Hurricane Katrina. One man says he can stop all the fighting by using what's called Forensic Meteorology. News Five's Tiffany Craig takes a closer look at how this science could work for the entire gulf coast.

Horst Grasz rode out Hurricane Katrina in the Shorecrest area of Biloxi. "I had gotten on this tire that had floated by and I got myself finally over to the telephone pole. That's where I was hanging and I decided it was strong enough to keep me alive." For hours, Grass was clinging on to that pole as the water kept rising. "But what's really is important is the tornadoes that showed up sucking up everything in its path." This is not Grasz's first time leaving things to chance. He had been gambling for years. "I had a very bad experience with Travelers insurance after Hurricane Camille. The same problems prevailed with water versus wind. I got very little so I decided I was not going to have any insurance." In some way after Katrina, Grasz believes he won! "Had I had insurance, I would not have gotten a penny. I had to just swallow the loss and it's alright because my neighbors who faithfully paid the premiums everyone around me are getting very little or nothing."

One of those neighbors is Alex Weddington! "I was sick. I physically wanted to throw up." Weddington showed his six year old daughter their waterfront leftovers. "She said daddy, why did God do this? I said well honey I don't know. Then she said, maybe we can glue it back together. I said well honey maybe we can." But the Weddington's insurance didn't stick. "We felt like it was gonna be cut and dry especially since the adjuster said originally that he thought wind destroyed the property. Therefore, we would be paid. Then, it was a shock when we got letter from the insurance company saying that water destroyed it. Therefore, we would not get paid because we didn't have flood insurance." Weddington hired a lawyer and Forensic Meteorologist Howard Altschule. "I found that there was certainly some very devastating wind and tornado occurrences especially in the Biloxi area that a lot of people aren't talking about but actually happened." Altschule winds back the clock to find weather data. "The first thing we do when we look at weather records for a particular case is get the address on a street map. We actually get all the different weather records surrounding or triangulating that area."

He collects the weather information at his office in Upstate New York and traveled down south to visit with his client and News Five. "The wind versus water is a big deal. A lot of people are saying that it's water damage and the storm surge." But this high-tech weather man says he has wind readings from Pascagoula to Gulfport that will interest a lot of people on the Gulf Coast. "Many of them are showing wind gusts in excess of 100 miles an hour before the anemometers blew away or broke or lost data transmission."

In Alex Weddington's case, a police officer reported a twister in the neighborhood that day and Altschule confirms it popped up on radar! "There is undoubtedly evidence that there was a tornado occurring in the area and the tornado caused damage to his house and the areas surrounding him."

Between Forensic Meteorology and their eyewitness neighbor, the Weddington's might have enough glue to make their case stick.

Forensic Meteorology isn't new but many people aren't aware it could help you fight an insurance claim.

These experts can give you a report based on your exact address and testify in court for you too.

News 5 found a list of forensic meteorologists you can contact if you're interested. Just click here for a link.



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