Tip: Obtaining certified copies of past weather conditions from National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)

Ever need to prove it was snowing, raining, etc on the day of the accident, and three years later, everyone "dummies" up.

Well, the federal government has anticipated not only your need for the information but your need for it to be evidentiarily admissible in court.  And you can order it on-line!  Snail mail is still available with a 5-7 day wait.  You can also obtain satellite, radar, and climate data.  See KRE 902 for self-authentication.

Most states require all records that are to be submitted as evidence in a court of law to be authenticated in some way. To accommodate this requirement, the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) offers two types of certification of the data maintained in the our archives.

The NCDC is designated by public law 754, passed by the 81st congress as the Federal Records Act of 1950, as the offical United States archive for climatic records. As such, the NCDC can certify copies of all records available from the NCDC archives. As an archive facility, the only fact the NCDC can attest to is that exact duplicates of climatic records on file at this center have been provided to those that request such data. The standard Department of Commerce (DOC) or General certification of authenticity regularly provided to clients appropriately accomplishes this. For more detailed information and answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) about certification of NCDC data, please read the free publication Environmental Information Summaries (EIS) C-1, Weather Records in Private Litigation.

Simple letter (confirm costs).  I would include the police report which might even have the GPS numbers.

National Climate Data Center (NCDC)
151 Patton Ave.
Room 129
Ashville, NC 28801

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to request a weather report (and all other data you are able to provide) pertinent to a traffic accident that occurred in the State of Kentucky in the year 2002.  The specific date and location of the accident are as follows:

1/02/2002 – Jefferson County, Kentucky

Enclosed is a check for $10.00 that I am tendering in prepayment of your stated fee for this information.  Please send the requested information to:

And don't forget other useful and odd data:

Naval Observatory - United States

Sun Rise/Set 

The times of sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, transits of the Sun and Moon, and the beginning and end of civil twilight, along with information on the Moon's phase by specifying the date and location.

Check out if it was a full moon or a dark and scary night when the witness claimed they could see what happened clearly!