Meteorology Program Alumni

Below are the stories of some of our alumni.

Mikel Hannah-Harding

Ever since he was young, Mikel’s passion for weather and its effect on society has been undeniable. He grew up watching the Weather Channel like it was his favorite cartoon and received gifts such as telescopes and weather picture books for Christmas as a youth. All his life he knew that becoming a meteorologist is what he wanted to do and is excited to turn his dreams into a reality here in the CSRA.

Mikel Hannah-Harding is an alumnus of the College of Charleston located in Charleston, SC, and graduated with a BA in Meteorology and a BA in Physics. During his time at CofC, Mikel had the opportunity to explore his meteorological interests by conducting multiple research studies on the Climatology and Variability of Tropical Cyclones impacting Wilmington, NC, Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA, Jacksonville, FL, and Cape Canaveral, FL over the past 165 years with Dr. Lee Lindner from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the College of Charleston. He also gained experience through two internships with ABC News 4 in Mt. Pleasant, SC and Live 5 News in West Ashley, SC.

Mikel joined the Tau Eta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. during his time at CofC where he served as Vice-President for one year and President for two years. He also was active on campus as a member of the "Mentoring Matters" program, Student Ambassadors, the College of Charleston Gospel Choir, and the REACH Mentorship Program. Mikel has been employed as a meteorologist for WRDW News 12/NBC 26 in Augusta, GA since June 2020 and spends his free time talking to local youth at various schools and youth empowerment organizations in the greater Augusta-Aiken Area. He is apart of the WRDW First Alert Weather Team who won an award from the Georgia Association of Broadcasters in 2022 for "Best Team Weather Coverage" in the small market TV division. An encouraging quote that he lives by is, “In order to succeed, your desire for success must be greater than your fear of failure.”

Hannah Rahner

Hannah graduated from the College of Charleston in December 2021 and landed her first job in her hometown of Myrtle Beach, SC in January 2022. She is beyond excited to start my career at home! The weather has always been a deep passion of hers, and her first weather memory is of Hurricane Charley. Since then, learning and exploring the weather is what she has been chasing.
In college, she was able to major in meteorology with a concentration in operational meteorology as well as major in physics. She double minored in mathematics and environmental and sustainability studies.

Hannah Rahner joined the News13 team in January 2022 as the weekend evening meteorologist.

She was born in Myrtle Beach and has never moved outside of Horry County. She graduated from Scholars Academy with dual-enrollment with Coastal Carolina University. Hannah graduated from Socastee High School in 2018.

Hannah attended the College of Charleston with a major in meteorology, and later declared a concentration in operational meteorology with a double major in physics. Hannah also minored in math and environmental and sustainability studies. She graduated from College of Charleston in December 2021 and accepted a job at News13.

Grace Lowe

Weather has always played a huge role in Grace’s life. Growing up, she used to sit outside and watch the sky for hours, trying to figure out when a storm might blow in. Now that love for weather has brought her right here at News 2!

Grace is from Spartanburg, SC, where her adoration for weather began! A tornado blew through her
neighborhood when she was 8 and left a strong impression – of both terror and awe. That early
experience first sparked Lowe’s fascination with weather, and it’s only grown from there.

Grace is College of Charleston graduate with degrees in Meteorology and Physics with a minor in Communications. Grace was very involved with the Meteorology program at the college and has helped build the program’s first broadcast room where students can work on their forecasting skills. At CofC she managed the student voice of the College, CisternYard Media from her freshman year to her senior year. Grace was a summer intern at WCBD, and she immediately felt at home here in the Lowcountry. Learning from the best of the best (Rob Fowler of course) she was “baptized by fire” during the night of
Tropical Storm Elsa, which brought 8 tornado warnings for the Lowcountry. Grace was there helping the
entire time. She might’ve been a little terrified, but she knew that at that moment- this is the job for her!
She is so excited to be staying in Charleston and keeping you informed on your weekend weather!

When she’s not staring at the sky, Grace enjoys spending time with her dog Kiwi (named after a song by
her favorite singer Harry Styles), reading any book that you will recommend, watching movies, and
playing show tunes on the piano!

Trevor Gibbs

Trevor Gibbs is a media personality serving as a First Alert Meteorologist for Action News Jax. He forecasts Saturday and Sunday mornings on CBS47 and FOX30. He joined the First Alert Weather Team in October 2022. Previously, he was a Meteorologist at WFXG Fox 54.

Upon completing his high school education, Trevor joined the College of Charleston in 2015 and graduated in 2019 with degrees in Meteorology and Physics and a minor in Communication from the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Gibbs is a South Carolina Lowcountry native, growing up in Summerville. After graduating from the College of Charleston, he spent some time in the Hudson Valley of New York providing forecasts and routes for ships across the globe. In 2020, he returned south and was a weekday morning meteorologist for WFXG in Augusta, Georgia for their five-hour morning show.

In his free time, Gibbs is an avid practitioner of yoga and became a certified yoga teacher (RYT-200) in college. He finds yoga an exceptional way to counteract the high demands life can have. He loves being by the water, taking scenic bike rides, and spending quality time with family and friends.