Meteorologist Jeff Thompson is proud to join the Channel 2 weather team. Jeff has almost a decade of experience forecasting in Northern Nevada and the Sierra, having served as Chief Meteorologist for another local station, and currently holding the position of Assistant Nevada State Climatologist at the University of Nevada.
Growing up in Arkansas, Jeff first came out west to work up in Helena, Montana, at KTVH. After a couple of years of sensational sunsets and warm friendships in Big Sky Country, Jeff came to Northern Nevada and has been home ever since. This past year, he commuted over to Sacramento on weekends to forecast for KCRA-3. He loved the opportunity, but is glad to be back on-air on this side of the Sierra. If you ask him about the experience, he would tell you, "I wasn't actually a Californian on the weekends… I just played one on TV!"
Jeff has earned his Certified Broadcast Meteorologist certification from the American Meteorological Society, making KTVN the only station west of the Rockies to have three on staff. He is also the only local meteorologist to have both the CBM designation and the National Weather Association Seal of Approval.
He has a master's degree in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Nevada. His research focus on the Tahoe lake effect and associated forecasting parameters which began with his thesis, continues through partnerships with faculty at the University of Nevada and Desert Research Institute.
Jeff says, "To be the best at what you do, it is important to work with the best." This has certainly been true throughout his career. Jeff has had the great honor to know and work alongside local broadcasting legends Tony Shelton and Dave Finley, and now Mike Alger and Ron Percivalle. In addition to broadcasters, Jeff also considers himself lucky to work with one of the nation's best National Weather Service offices, the staff at the Western Regional Climate Center, and his friend and mentor, our Nevada State Climatologist Dr. Jeffrey Underwood.
You may know Jeff's wife Teresa Benitez-Thompson as another noteworthy Nevadan. Teresa was Miss Nevada 2002, and third runner-up to Miss America. She is very active in our community and state as a social worker, volunteer, and advocate, always working to make a difference. Jeff and Teresa have two toddlers and two Chihuahuas at home, keeping family life as wild and unpredictable as any cut-off low or inside-slider
E-mail Jeff at jthompson@ktvn.com
