
Mike Thomas
Mike Thomas’ fascination with weather started at a young age. Growing up in the small Prince George's County town of Beltsville, MD Mike vividly remembers the EF3 tornado that tore through the city of College Park, damaging his elementary school at the time. His drive to understand the disaster took him on the meteorology path.
After graduating from DeMatha Catholic High School, Mike attended University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he double majored in mathematics and physics before wrapping up his degree in Atmospheric Sciences, Meteorology at Penn State University in 2012. His first experience with FOX 5 came in the summer of 2011 when he took a weather internship under the guidance of Tucker Barnes and Tony Perkins.
After graduation, he took a job with Commodity Weather Group in Bethesda, MD where he focused on learning forecast techniques, weather model analysis, extended range, and seasonal forecasting. Forecasting and advising commodity traders and other meteorologists on the New York Stock Exchange, Mike's forecasts were featured in various articles from USA Today, MSNBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, and Reuters.
Mike got his start in television when he joined the FOX 5 Weather Team in the summer of 2014 as a part-time weekend morning meteorologist. In the fall, he joined the team full time, reuniting with his old mentor Tucker Barnes.
Mike applies his weather knowledge each morning by writing the morning forecast and builds the vast majority of weather graphics you see on the show each day. Keeping often complicated weather patterns viral and fun, he went viral in 2015 when he fashioned song lyrics from Taylor Swift and Madonna into weather forecasts. He regularly does "weather talks" on his Facebook page, particularly during snow season.
A part of the FOX 5 Morning Team for the first eight years of his career, Mike covered anything from hurricanes to tornado outbreaks to blizzards with the great Blizzard of 2016 a favorite highlight of his career. He also filled in with occasional field reporting, traffic, and "Good Day DC" appearances.
Mike was promoted to evening meteorologist in the spring of 2022 to fill the void left by longtime FOX 5 Chief Meteorologist Sue Palka. He writes regularly on fox5dc.com as well, and is the Mid-Atlantic’s "Weather Champion" for the FOX Weather Network.
When not at the station, Mike spends most of his time at his home in Columbia, MD with his golden retriever Sid. In 2016, he was voted as one of the "Top Eligible Bachelors" in Baltimore Magazine. An avid sports fan, he regularly attends local sporting events and continues to play lacrosse, hockey, and volleyball. His passions include learning about technology, history, skiing, hiking, and traveling. A nerd at heart, he loves to learn anything about absolutely everything and is passionate about sharing that knowledge with others.
The latest from Mike Thomas
Humidity, possible storms expected to ring in the weekend
Expect high humidity to bring in the weekend.
Hot and humid Thursday with possible afternoon storms
The big story is the heat with Thursday expected to be the hottest day of the current heatwave.
DC Heat Wave: Another stretch of sweltering temperatures as dog days of summer continue
After our longest stretch of 90 degree plus weather in two summers during the middle of July, it was a nice end to the month with a bit of a break from the extreme heat – including this first day of August where D.C. hit 89 degrees for a high, only one day in the past week has exceeded the 90 degree mark.
Sunny final Saturday in July with low humidity, few clouds
Saturday is the pick of the weekend! Expect mostly sunny skies with just some passing clouds and low humidity.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch for parts of DC region Friday as potentially strong storms move through
Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Calvert, Charles, and St. Marys County in MD until 8:00pm.
Cool, cloudy Tuesday as heat wave ends; afternoon storms possible
Much cooler temperatures Tuesday as the D.C. region finally sees some relief from the sweltering heat and humidity that have gripped the area for over a week.
Dangerous heat wave grips DC region through weekend
Prepare for one of the hottest weekends in D.C. in recent memory!
Summer heat wave continues with potential to hit triple-digit temperatures
Get ready for our hottest stretch of the summer so far!
Severe thunderstorm watch in place for DMV amid humid, hot Tuesday
Severe weather is expected to bring storms into the region throughout the evening on Tuesday as a severe thunderstorm watch has gone into place.
Heavy rain, flooding, and severe weather expected across DC region to begin weekend
An unpleasant start to the weekend in the D.C. region as heavy rain and severe weather could bring the threat for flooding to the area. FOX 5’s Mike Thomas has the forecast.