A 24-karat weather verification

A jewelry store in the southwestern part of the United States ran a contest that stipulated if the temperature reached a certain record level on the day of the contest, that every customer who purchased from the store that day would receive free jewelry. The record temperature on the day of the contest was 115 degrees. According to the jewelry store, the temperature that afternoon hit 116 degrees, which meant that every single customer was given free jewelry, costing the store some $100,000!!

Prior to the contest, the store had taken out an insurance policy to cover their potential loss, should the record-breaking event occur. And according to the store, it did. They even turned in an "official looking" document to their insurance company, claiming they had a loss which they wanted to be reimbursed for. The claims adjuster for the insurance company contacted a forensic meteorologist and requested a verification of the temperature for that day. The report provided to the insurance company by the forensic meteorologist showed a temperature of only 112 degrees. The reporting station that the jewelry store used in their claim to the insurance company was from a location which is not monitored or controlled by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Since there is no quality control at this site, it is not considered an official site for weather records. Based on the report, the claim was denied saving the insurance company $100,000.