Saunders replaces Graham Creed, who left the public broadcaster earlier this year.
The ABC has today announced that Tom Saunders will be the new meteorologist and weather presenter for the NSW 7pm News bulletin.
Rain, hail or shine, the highly experienced meteorologist will be appearing on the news and adding to coverage across the ABC’s platforms from Monday 22 August.
About the new role, Saunders said:
“I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to present the weather on the 7pm News and contribute to the ABC’s overall coverage.
“It’s an honour to be given the responsibility to provide accurate, engaging reports as climate change increasingly shifts weather into having a critical role in people’s lives.”
Saunders has been passionate about meteorology since August 1986 when an East Coast Low brought Sydney’s heaviest 24-hour rain on record and caused a landslide in his backyard.
He said:
“Working as a broadcast meteorologist gives me the opportunity to share my knowledge and interest in weather with a wide audience.
“The weather is an endlessly fascinating topic and problem to solve because no two days are ever exactly the same – the forecast challenge is infinite.
“My philosophy on presenting weather is to always respect my audience by providing clear and accurate information in understandable language which can be used to help people’s everyday decision-making.”
Tom completed a Bachelor of Science with a major in Atmospheric Science at Macquarie University before joining Weatherzone as an operational forecaster from 2003 to 2009, providing detailed briefings to numerous weather-dependent industries.
His first broadcast role was with The Weather Channel (now Sky News Weather) from 2009 to 2020, where he became Chief Meteorologist. During this time he provided detailed coverage of some of Australia’s worst natural disasters, including the La Nina-fuelled Queensland flooding in 2011, Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi and the Black Summer bushfires.
From 2020 to 2022 he took on the responsibility of managing Sky News Weather while still leading the broadcast team to create engaging and accurate weather content.
Outside his interest in weather and science Tom loves being active with his family in Australia’s outdoors, particularly snowboarding and camping.
Tom takes over the key role from Graham Creed, who farewelled the ABC in February after 14 years.
