Clemson alum, B.S. Electrical Engineering. Principal Nuclear Engineer when at work. Weather nerd. Everything nerd.
South Carolina, USA
Joined January 2009
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John W. Rankin retweeted
Cool undulating clouds from my backyard camera in Myrtle Beach. In another note, temps only falling from here!
me reading "break out the pumpkin spice" in the @NWSWilmingtonNC forecast discussion.🎃 #scwx
John W. Rankin retweeted
FALL LOVERS, THIS ONE’S FOR YOU 🍂
The coolest air so far this season arrives this weekend! A cold front moves through Friday evening, setting up sunny skies, crisp mornings & highs in the upper 60s to around 70. As we get more data, we'll adjust the forecast as needed.
John W. Rankin retweeted
A SpaceX rocket launch is scheduled for 6:33 a.m. EDT Tuesday, and if the launch stays on schedule and the weather cooperates, we could get a spectacular view of the glowing exhaust plume often called a “jellyfish cloud”! Look toward the south and southeast about 3–4 minutes after liftoff.
What causes the jellyfish effect? By the time the rocket is visible to us, it's roughly 80–100 miles above Earth so it and its expanding exhaust plume are illuminated by the rising sun while we’re still in darkness on the ground. That sunlight makes the plume glow brilliantly against the dark, pre-dawn sky.
Big thanks to John Kraus @spacejellyalert for the timing information!
John W. Rankin retweeted
Here's a 3-day loop of Hurricane Isaias and its transition to a post-tropical system. In addition to devastating winds and storm surge along the Gulf Coast, Isaias was responsible for flooding in western North Carolina and a number of tornadoes across central and eastern NC today
John W. Rankin retweeted
SEVERE WEATHER THREAT OVER
12:30 PM SUNDAY 10/11/2026
The storms have finally moved out, and the severe weather threat is over for the entire area.
What a wild few hours! Based on rotation indicated on Doppler radar, the National Weather Service issued three tornado warnings for our area, but thankfully, we've had no confirmed tornado sightings or damage reports. That's certainly the best news of the day!
Thanks for staying weather-aware, and enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
I think I just hit my highest instantaneous rain rate in my history of having a Tempest, 6.3 in/hr rate at the start of this line. @jamiearnoldWMBF @AndrewWMBF #scwx
John W. Rankin retweeted
BREAKING >> Isaias is now the first major hurriance of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Hunters just found winds of 120 mph winds as Isaias continues to strengthen this morning. @wmbfnews @JamieArnoldWMBF
#oliviarodrigo in Charlotte tonight was amazing. played what's wrong with me for the first time.
John W. Rankin retweeted
THE NITTY GRITTY DETAILS - Yes, the entire weekend will be cloudy and gloomy with some occasional rain. However, the entire weekend WILL NOT be stormy.
⛈️ The time frame I'm most concerned with starts Saturday evening through Saturday night and into Sunday morning. It's during that time frame that we're likely to see a band of intense rain and storms move into the area. Within this intense band, there will be a concern for training storms that could lead to localized rainfall totals of around 6 inches in just a few hours. That could be enough to lead to flooding.
🌪️ This band will need to be watched very closely for embedded storms capable of producing a brief tornado or two. With an overnight threat possible, please keep up with the forecast. You know we'll be sending constant updates on the app. #SCwx @wmbfnews
John W. Rankin retweeted
Good morning, #Isaias.
Today will determine just how strong Isaias can become. Current forecast calls for a category 2 hurricane.
@wmbfnews @jamiearnoldWMBF @jgreenhillwx @acarrollwx @BryceGlennWX
Credit: @CIRA_CSU
a little "steam" off the pond is my favorite sign that fall is here 🎃 #scwx @EdPiotrowski
John W. Rankin retweeted
10 YEARS AGO TODAY >>> HURRICANE MATTHEW. It was the first hurricane to make landfall north of Florida in the month October since Hazel in 1954. Matthew produced the second highest surge on record in Myrtle Beach behind Hugo. Rainfall reached 12-18 inches in most of the area sending rivers to the highest levels on record (until Florence in 2018). Of course we remember those backside winds. 60-80 mph winds downed thousands of trees and left nearly 900,000 Carolina residents in the dark. #SCwx #NCwx @wmbfnews
