Tom has been forecasting on the international scene since 1986. Prior to starting his television career Tom worked as a U.S. Air Force Weather Officer. While stationed at RAF Mildenhall in England he managed the forecasting desk for the world's busiest military weather station with the most complex support tasking in NATO. Tom currently provides daily worldwide weather forecasts to television groups in Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.

World Weather for Thursday March 11 2010
 
 
Middle East:  An upper-level ridge will be blossoming over the central and southern portions of the Arabian Peninsula. Sunny, warm weather will govern all southern regions of the Middle East. To the north, temperatures will be mild. A few rain showers are possible over far eastern sections of Afghanistan and Pakistan. A trough will produce a few scattered showers over parts of the Caspian Sea, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It will also be rather breezy. Scattered showers are indicated for the far western regions of Turkey as well where temperatures will be somewhat cooler. Highs will reach 25 in Islamabad with variable cloudiness and the risk for a shower, 27 in Damascus with sunny skies, and 29 in Abu Dhabi with sunshine.
 
Europe:   A trough will stretch from southern Italy north to southern Poland. In advance of the trough, areas of rain and higher-elevation snow are indicated for parts of Ukraine, Romania, the central Balkans, and Bulgaria. Rain will fall over parts of Greece and southern Italy and in those locations the rain could be locally heavy. A new system will be moving onshore over Portugal with wind-driven showers expected there and over many western portions of Spain. A ridge of high pressure will extend from Ireland northeast to Norway with surface high pressure positioned over northern England. Fine weather will dominate the rest of the continent with the exception of some parts of southern Finland where a few minor snow showers are expected. Temperatures will remain quite cool for mid-March over most of the continent with mild air confined to Turkey and Greece. Highs will reach -9 in Helsinki with variable cloudiness and snow showers, 8 in Venice with a mix of clouds and sun, and 17 in Lisbon with some rain likely.
 
United States and Canada:   A trough will be positioned along the Illinois and Wisconsin border with a warm front extending east to central Pennsylvania. This setup will result in areas of freezing rain from Wisconsin east to southern New England. Snow showers are expected over parts of Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. To the south, an intensifying storm will be positioned over northern Louisiana with rainfalls of 10 to 25 mm extending from Oklahoma and eastern Texas east to South Carolina. The storm will bear close watching over the next couple of days as it continues to intensify. A more powerful storm system will be positioned several hundred kilometers off the coast of British Columbia and the storm will be approaching over the next day or so. Rain will begin to spread inland over British Columbia as the day wears on. Apart from a few minor snow showers over portions of Wyoming and Idaho, other western regions of North America will be quiet with seasonable temperatures. Highs will reach 3 in Halifax with variable cloudiness, 3 in Chicago with some rain or freezing rain, and 16 in Dallas with morning rain followed by some afternoon clearing.
 
Asia:   A storm system will be located over Manchuria with 5 to 10 cm snowfalls expected. Another storm system will be pulling to the east of northern Japan with some leftover snow showers expected there as well. To the west, rain and snow showers are indicated for far western Mongolia. The weather will be quiet across the whole of China with somewhat milder air beginning to push back to the north. Conditions will also be extremely quiet over the Korean Peninsula, southern Japan, and much of southern Asia as well. A trough will trigger some extra clouds over southern China and Burma. Minor showers will cover much of the Philippines and southern Vietnam. Highs will reach 9 in Beijing with sunny skies, 20 in Yokohama with mostly sunny skies, and 34 in Bangkok with clouds and some sunshine.
 
Africa:  Onshore winds will induce a few showers over parts of Morocco and far western Algeria. Apart from a shower over southern Mali, other northern regions of the continent will be quiet. To the east, minor showers will extend from central Ethiopia southwest across interior Kenya to some interior sections of Tanzania. A pair of troughs will be in place over Congo and northern Angola with 10 to 25 mm showers and thunderstorms expected. A few showers will dot parts of Madagascar but other southern regions of Africa will be very quiet. Highs will reach 20 in Tunis with variable cloudiness, 30 in Cape Town with clouds and some sunshine, and 31 in Mombasa with variable cloudiness and the risk for a passing shower.
 
Australia and New Zealand:   A wave of low pressure will be hovering over far southeastern Australia with a scattering of showers expected over the coastal sections of New South Wales and Victoria and for a few spots over Tasmania. To the west, pressures will be lowering near Port Hedland with some scattered shower activity expected along that northwestern coastline of the country. A minor shower is also possible around Perth. Temperatures will be mild to warm over the south and still warm to hot over the north. Onshore winds will produce some showers over New Zealand's North Island. Central and southern regions of the country will be quiet. Temperatures will be mild over all areas. Highs will reach 24 in Auckland with variable cloudiness and a few showers, 27 in Brisbane with clouds, sun, and a few scattered showers, and 30 in Perth with partial sunshine along with risk for a brief afternoon shower.
 
South America:   A powerful trough will be in place over southern Argentina and southern Chile with a swath of 5 to 15 mm rainfall expected along the eastern coastline of central Argentina. Some minor shower activity will extend from there northwest to the Bolivia border. To the north, skies will be mostly sunny over Bolivia, southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southern Peru. A wave of low pressure we positioned over northeastern Brazil with showers and thunderstorms expected from Salvador inland to the west a bit. Showers and thunderstorms with 10 to 20 mm rainfalls will affect coastal Colombia, Ecuador, and much of northern Peru. Temperatures will be mild to warm across the entire continent. Highs will reach 24 in Lima with a mix of sun and clouds, 27 in Montevideo with mostly sunny skies, and 28 in Caracas with full sunshine.