Maria Timmer
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Maria Janeth Molina (born April 7, 1987) is an American
meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...
. She was the on-air meteorologist for the
Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
, a U.S. television network, from 2010 to 2016. she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the
University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...
.


Early life

Molina was born in
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
and grew up in
Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in Miami-Da ...
. She is a graduate of
Barbara Goleman Senior High School Barbara Goleman Senior High School is a secondary school located at 14100 NW 89th Ave in Miami Lakes, Florida; its principal is Manuel Sanchez. Goleman is part of Miami-Dade County Public Schools Region I, and is school number 7751. The school ...
. She attributes her interest in
meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...
to her experience with Category 5
Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a compact, but very powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures dama ...
, which hit her hometown in South Florida when she was 5 years old.'


Education

Molina graduated
cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
from
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
in 2008, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...
and minors in mathematics and communications. While at
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
, she completed the University Honors Program and the Honors in the Major Program requirements. Additionally, she graduated from
Columbia University in the City of New York Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan, it ...
in 2015 with a
Masters of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
degree in Climate and Society. She earned her PhD from
Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...
in the Earth and Ecosystem Science Doctoral Program, where she was also a graduate research assistant.


Career

Molina has earned the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) designation from the
American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance the atmosph ...
(AMS). Molina joined Fox News in October 2010. She provided weather updates on many Fox shows and appeared regularly on the
FOX & Friends ''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning conservative news and talk program that airs on Fox News and reruns on Fox.Thompson, Ethan, and Jason Mittell. "Fox & Friends: Political Talk." ''How to Watch Television.'' 168-76. Print. It premie ...
morning show, until leaving the station for graduate school in September 2016. She was credited as being the youngest meteorologist on cable in 2012. While at Fox News, she also appeared on the
Fox Business Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American conservative business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios ...
,
Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...
, Fox News Latino, and
Fox Sports Networks Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by the Walt Disney Company on M ...
. She served as a part-time meteorologist at WJBK Fox2 in Detroit mainly on weekend newscasts while pursuing her doctoral degree in Michigan. Prior to Fox News, Molina was a
bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
TV meteorologist for AccuWeather in
State College, Pennsylvania State College is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough and Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park, Pennsylvania, University Park ...
, for which she provided weather forecasts in both English and Spanish. She was an Advanced Study Program (ASP) postdoctoral fellow at the
National Center for Atmospheric Research The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) is a US federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and funded by the National Science Foundat ...
.


Personal life

In December 2015, she married storm chaser
Reed Timmer Reed Timmer (born March 17, 1980) is an American meteorologist and storm chasing, storm chaser. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he took an interest in science, including weather, at a young age, before experiencing severe weather, including a ...
at the Masaya Volcano National Park in Nicaragua but the two would end up divorcing in 2017 according to Reed.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Molina, Maria Living people Television personalities from Florida American television weather presenters Fox News people Florida State University alumni Columbia University alumni Nicaraguan emigrants to the United States Place of birth missing (living people) 1987 births Scientists from Florida Hispanic and Latino American women journalists 21st-century American women People from Hialeah, Florida