Tornado Expert Witnesses

Birmingham, Alabama

Meteorology, Environmental - Weather, Rainfall, Flood, Hurricane, Tornado, Wind, Fog, Visibility, Atmosphere, Insurance, Slip and Fall, Accident Reconstruction

Dr. Tim Coleman is the founding partner of the meteorological consulting firm of Coleman Knupp & Dice, LLC, that has now become a part of Weatherbell Analytics, LLC. He has been working in forensic weather analysis and consulting since 2008, and has 34 years of experience in meteorology. He holds a PhD and MS in Atmospheric Science from The University of Alabama in Huntsville, and a BS in Physics and Mathematics from Samford University. Tim has performed meteorological consulting services in over 700 cases in 21 states and Europe. His work in these cases has been widely varied, including but not limited to: rainfall and flood analysis; building collapse (due to wind or water); wind damage (including hurricanes, straight-line winds, and tornadoes), slip and fall (due to water, ice, and wind), lightning, hail damage, highway accidents, aircraft accidents, fog and visibility, and sun angle. Many of these cases have involved expert testimony. Dr. Coleman’s clients have compliment...

Little Rock, Arkansas

Meteorology - Meteorology, Forensic, thunderstorm, Damage, wind, hail, tornado, Storm Reports, weather, data, flooding, ice, snow, temperature, accident, insurance, renewable, energy, analysis , consulting

Jeff Baskin is an AMS Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM) with a B.S. in Meteorology from Cornell University and nearly 30 years of experience in operational weather forecasting. His expertise spans a wide range of sectors, including broadcast, energy, and utilities, with specialized knowledge in weather-related risk assessment and forensic meteorology. He has authored forensic reports used in legal and insurance contexts and is skilled in interpreting and validating historical, real-time, and forecast weather data using advanced tools and models. Jeff is proficient with radar and satellite analysis, numerical weather prediction models (e.g., GFS, ECMWF, HRRR), and integrating observational data to reconstruct weather events with a high degree of accuracy. He also has experience communicating complex meteorological information to technical and non-technical audiences and is available for consulting engagements involving weather data verification, storm analysis, and expert eval...

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Civil Engineering, Meteorology - Wind, Storm Damage, Tornado, Hail, Snow, Precipitation, Roof, Rebuttal, Hurricane, Thunderstorm, Wind Tunnel, Structural, Building Damage, Radar, Insurance, Forensic Engineering, Damage Analysis, Commercial, Residential, Disaster

Dr. Alfano has been performing forensic evaluations for over ten years starting with her doctoral research when she analyzed damage and researched mitigation techniques for wood-frame construction subjected to tornado loading. Upon graduation, she researched full-scale building performance under wind loads and wildfire/ember exposure in a large-scale wind tunnel. Over the last ten years, she has inspected and assessed damage to hundreds of properties including residential and commercial structures. Additionally, she has participated and collaborated in several large-scale post-disaster surveys for tornadoes and hurricanes as part of broader research initiatives. Dr. Alfano remains involved in research and code committees and is an associate member and secretary of the SEI/ASCE/AMS Wind Speed Estimation Standards Committee. This standard is in development as a joint collaboration between engineering and meteorology communities and will provide a consensus document on the estimation o...

South Jordan, Utah

Structural Engineering, Civil Engineering - Forensic engineering, construction defects, structural failure and retrofit, bridge engineering, fall protection, building codes, project management, fire, water, wind, snow, flood, hurricane, tornado, impact, damage analysis, hydrologic and hydraulic river studies, electrical power line structures

Mr. Marcor Platt is a licensed civil and structural engineer (PE/SE) with authority to practice across 26 U.S. states, districts, and territories (see his Curriculum Vitae for the full list), reflecting both the breadth of his expertise and the national demand for his work. He is a credentialed Building Code Specialist, holding certification as a Certified Building Official (CBO) through the International Code Council, and a recognized leader in project delivery, certified by the Project Management Institute as both a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP). Mr. Platt provides expert opinion reports and testimony for structural and civil projects involving forensic engineering, design engineering, building codes, and project management. He has conducted between 800 and 1,000 forensic investigations involving roof failures, wall failures, foundation issues, corrosion, or other forms of damage resulting from rain, hail, wind, snow, flood, tor...