Daily Weather Briefing for Friday, July 7, 2017

LOCAL NEWS

Keith Mann, who was arrested on November 30th, 2016 and pled guilty to starting several small fires in the Nantahala National Forest in March 2017, was sentenced to serve five years in federal prison yesterday. A press release from the US Attorney's Office of Western North Carolina is on the blog. [LINK]



LOCAL OUTLOOK

Seasonal temperatures and mainly afternoon showers and thunderstorms will continue through Saturday. A front will push through the area Saturday night, bringing somewhat drier and cooler air for Sunday and Monday. More humid and unsettled weather is expected by Tuesday as the front creeps back into the area from the south.

WEATHER SPONSOR


Adams Products, a Division of Oldcastle is underwriting the daily weather briefing and public safety updates for the month.  They have all your masonry products (block, mortars, tools), plus feature Belgrade Pavers and Sakrete Products.  Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC.  

Visit their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC/

Their phone number is 828.524.8545, all are welcome, let them help you with your next project.  


Weather Almanac for July 7th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 99°F in Franklin in 1990
Lowest Temperature 47°F in Highlands in 1918
Greatest Rainfall 5.37 inches in Highlands in 1941

Record weather events for July in Macon County

Highest Temperature 101°F in Franklin in 1952
Lowest Temperature 34°F in Highlands in 1911
Greatest Rainfall 21.15 inches in Highlands in 1879


THREE DAY OUTLOOK




TODAY

Patchy fog early. Partly sunny with highs in the low to mid-80s. Calm winds in the morning, then 5 to 10 mph from the northwest by midmorning. Scattered showers and thunderstorms with rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter inch possible with locations that experience thunderstorms potentially getting more.

TONIGHT

Partly cloudy with patchy fog around midnight and lows near the mid-60s. Winds out of the west calming before midnight. Widely scattered showers, mainly before midnight.



SATURDAY

Partly sunny with highs in the mid-80s. Calm winds early then 5 to 10 mph out of the northwest by midmorning. Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows near 60 and winds out of the northwest calming before midnight.



SUNDAY

Mostly sunny with lows near the low-80s.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows near 60.


HAZARDS

No hazardous weather expected.

As always, you can check to see what advisories, watches, and warnings are in effect for Macon County by visiting http://is.gd/MACONWARN



TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK

Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Fri Jul 7 2017

For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Tropical Depression Four, located well to the east of the Lesser Antilles.

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.



TROPICAL DEPRESSION NUMBER FOUR

Tropical Depression Four Discussion Number 5
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL042017
1100 PM AST Thu Jul 06 2017

The depression continues to be poorly organized this evening. Recent scatterometer data indicate that the circulation is losing definition, with the center in that data well to the southeast of the remaining convection. A complication, though, is recent observations from NOAA buoy 41041 that suggest the possibility of a second center closer to the remaining convection and well to the north of the center seen in the scatterometer data. The initial intensity remains 25 kt based mainly on the scatterometer data. It is possible that the system has already degenerated to an open wave, but for now advisories will be maintained until visible imagery becomes available Friday morning.

The depression should continue to lose organization due to entrainment of dry air and developing southwesterly shear. The new intensity forecast now calls for the system to degenerate to a remnant low between 12 and 24 h and become an open wave after 72 h. Both of these events could occur earlier than currently forecasted. It should be noted that the UKMET model suggests the possibility the system could regenerate near the end of the forecast period. However, the other large-scale models do not yet support this scenario.

A strong low- to mid-level ridge to the north of the cyclone should steer it westward to west-northwestward until dissipation. The new forecast track lies near the model consensus and is a little to the south of the previous track.


MACON CALENDAR

If you have an event you wish to be added to this calendar, please send the information, along with a flyer in pdf format or a high-quality photo, to editor@maconmedia.com. If you want text published, please include a paragraph with your photo, flyer or graphic. Please include date(s) and time(s).
There is no charge for civic, educational or non-profit groups, except for groups or events that receive funding from the TDA, TDC, and EDC, where full rates apply.


Saturday, July 8th

Sweet Corn Festival, 10 am to 3 pm

Our largest fundraiser of the year coming Saturday, July 8th! 20th Annual Sweet Corn Festival 10:00-3:00, includes food, craft & non-profit vendors, live entertainment, trail hikes, historic church tours, and children’s activities. We can't wait to see you!!

Proceeds benefit All Saints Episcopal Church Outreach and CareNet.



Tuesday, July 18th

The Franklin Appalachian Trail Community Council's monthly meeting will be held Tuesday, July 18th, 10:00 a.m. at Rathskeller Coffee Haus. Everyone interested in supporting the hiking community is welcome.


National Alliance on Mental Illness
Appalachian South

Meets each Thursday at 7pm
The First Methodist Church Outreach Center
at the intersection of Harrison Ave. and West Main Street
(directly across from Lazy Hiker Brewery)

Come join our weekly support group for anyone suffering from mental illness and their family or friends. This includes Depression, Bipolar,8chizophrenia, PTSD, Substance Abuse, Etc.

Here you will find:
— others living with mental health challenges YOU ARE NOT ALONE
- learn coping skills and ?find hope in shared experience
- help learning how to break down stigma and guilt surrounding mental health
- how to live life with the expectation of a better a better future

Kay (706)970-9987 Denise (828)347-5000)

SYRINGE EXCHANGE PROGRAM

On January 1, 2017, the Syringe Exchange Program of Franklin began operating a comprehensive harm reduction program to address the opioid epidemic that is impacting western NC. Opioid overdose reversal kits including naloxone are available free of charge. If you have any questions about our services or if you know someone interested in volunteering, please contact Stephanie Almeida at 828-475-1920.



Astronomy

Twilight Begins: 5:56 am
Sunrise: 6:26 am
Sunset 8:51 pm
Twilight Ends: 9:20 pm


Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous with 98% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

Moonset 5:17 a.m
Moonrise 7:39 p.m.


Evening Events and Planets

Chart shows sky at 10:30 pm tonight




Morning Events and Planets

Chart shows sky at 4 am tomorrow morning



Sky Guides for this week

Sky and Telescope Magazine 
Astronomy Magazine


Earth Sky has an article on the eclipses of 2017. [LINK]

Heavens Above has an Android App that will assist you in observing the sky and even has a satellite tracker that will let you know when the International Space Station and dozens of other satellites are overhead. [LINK]

Stellarium is also an app that will assist you in observing the sky. It is available in both Android [LINK] and iOS versions. [LINK]

CROWD FUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month.

If you have a business or event you are interested in sponsorship opportunities or underwriting coverage, send an email to editor@MaconMedia.com for more information. Serious inquiries only.

Thank You to the people who have been sending in donations and those businesses who are underwriting coverage of news and events. You have kept Macon Media online. You have made it possible for Macon Media to begin purchasing state of the art equipment and begin work on building a real website with features not employed by any local news outlets.

You can find out more information on how to do that and some of what I plan to accomplish if I reach certain levels of funding at https://www.patreon.com/MaconMedia


Published at 4:09 am on July 7, 2017

#WNCscan #MaconWx #MaconSafety

Data and information sources: Sources (except where otherwise credited): heavens-above.com, Ian Webster's Github, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, The National Weather Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Penn State University Electronic Wall Map, The State Climate Office of North Carolina, Storm Prediction Center, U.S. Naval Observatory, and the Weather Prediction Center.