Tom Coomes, Chief Meteorologist
I grew up in Michiana; Little League in North Liberty, hockey in the IYHL and high school football at South Bend Washington. I remember summers on Lake Manitou in Rochester at one set of grandparent's house and winters sledding in South Bend at the other.
After graduating from Purdue and moving to Colorado to start my career in Grand Junction, I wasn't sure if I'd be back. 300 day of sunshine, mountains and skiing, who would leave? For most, it sounds like paradise, unless you're a meteorologist, then it can get a little boring.
When I got the call from my now boss “We're launching a new news station in South Bend” I thought he was pulling my leg. It's all I could ask for in a new chapter in my career. I enjoy taking on a challenge, and building something from the ground up was just the thing. Not only that, but in what I'd consider one of top weather markets in the county. Not many places can it snow 100 inches and get down to 20° below zero in winter, to severe weather and 90s in summer and everything between. Oh, and I was home.
I got the love of science from my grandfather, who was a PhD physics professor at the University of Notre Dame, he helped me with my first science project in first grade that was on light and the color spectrum. Starting at Purdue, I thought I wanted to be a chemist, but being stuck in a lab all day didn't' seem right to me. I picked meteorology because it combined what I thought to be my two best talents, talking and science.
When I'm not doing all things weather I like to travel, enjoy the outdoors, garden, grill and of course enjoy some craft beer. You're likely to find me on my bicycle on sunny day, at the South Bend Farmers Market in the summer and at one of our local breweries on a Friday night.
I have a passion not just for weather, but for informing the public. I feel I live the First Warning brand because I think telling you “in the moment” of the storm is already too late. I'm a planner and I take it as a mark of pride when I can help others plan for the next hour, day or week. I look forward to taking Michiana weather into the modern age and love using social media, especially Twitter.
You can send me an email, follow me on Twitter and like me on Facebook.
Articles by Tom Coomes
- Consistently pleasant and dry
- Mild Saturday, breezy Sunday, cooler Monday
- Clouds clear for another fair weekend
- The fall weather you've been waiting for
- Fair fall weather
- A fall feeling to start October
- A change to start autumn this weekend
- A chance of rain!
- Little change in the forecast, warm and dry
- The warm, dry days will continue to add up
- No sign of fall or rain
- Drought will worsen, rain is unlikely, anytime soon
- Hot, dry, worsening drought, hopeful for rain
- Weather whiplash as temperatures swing
- Warm and fair midweek, much cooler weekend
- ABC57 talks with vendors at Plymouth's 58th annual Blueberry Festival
- The heat and humidity drop after storms Friday afternoon
- One more chance of rain before a fair holiday weekend
- The extreme heat is over, still steamy the rest of the week
- Extreme heat Tuesday, still muggy through Friday
- Warm weekend, hot next week
- The heat and humidity rise this weekend
- Summer heat and humidity will return
- Enjoy the mild weather while it lasts
- Friday is bookend by storms
- Rounds of rain Thursday through Saturday
- The humidity rises, much needed rain to end the week
- Dry until Thursday
- Mild and dry for awhile
- A mild weekend
- Temperatures drop into the weekend
- A few showers Tuesday, then the humidity drops
- Stormy then steamy, Monday
- A beautiful beach weekend
- Steamy and stormy Thursday
- Humidity and storm threat increasing
- The humidity remains high
- The humidity returns, Sunday
- Comfortable weather lasts through Saturday
- Fair and mild through Saturday
- A few rounds of rain ahead of a cold front
- The chance of rain increases, through Wednesday
- Strong storms are likely after 10 PM
- Sweltering humidity and scattered storms by Sunday
- This week was one of the wettest in July, all-time
- Pleasant and dry through Saturday
- Drier weather to end the week
- Beryl of rain and breezy Wednesday
- A Beryl of rain, starts Tuesday evening
- The rounds of showers and muggy weather, ends Friday
- More clouds than sun on the 4th of July
- The impact of rain through the holiday, remains low
- A chance of rain through the 4th of July
- The weather changes significantly day-to-day
- More storms Wednesday morning, then a less humid midweek
- ABC57's Tom Coomes teaches local children about meteorology
- Hot and stormy Tuesday, then milder weather returns
- Even hotter to end the week
- It only gets hotter this week
- Mild weather to end the week
- The summer heat is just begining
- Mild weekend, slight chance of rain Saturday
- Mild weekend, slight chance of rain Saturday
- Clouds break, humidity drops
- Muggy, with thundershowers through Wednesday
- Temperatures rise Tuesday, fall Wednesday
- Soaking rain, Saturday afternoon / evening
- Fair and mild to end the week, showers Saturday
- After the showers, fair and milder midweek
- Cool, a few showers through midweek
- Fair Saturday, stormy Sunday, severe weather possible
- Planning around storms this weekend
- Fair Thursday, storms again Friday evening
- Concord schools launch weather balloon
- Warm and dry weekend
- A warm, sunny weekend ahead
- Showers end the week, then a fair weekend
- The clouds break Wednesday
- Damp and cooler Tuesday, fair again midweek.
- Rain late tonight, yields to a fair weekend