Daily Weather Briefing for Sunday, August 13, 2017

LOCAL OUTLOOK

A stationary front over the lower piedmont today will slowly return north over the region Monday through Tuesday, with abundant moisture remaining in place across the area. Slightly drier high pressure will arrive during the middle part of the week, but with moisture returning ahead of the next cold front approaching from the northwest on Friday. This cold front may impact our chances for a clear sky on the day of the eclipse.

LOCAL NEWS

A local teen died in an accident on Cowee Mountain yesterday and another was airlifted to Memorial Mission in critical condition, along with a child. Please keep these families in your thoughts and prayers. Read more about it on our Facebook page.


Eclipse Day Forecast (August 13th Edition)

Accuweather

High 78° Low 57° Some sun, a t-storm possible

Intellicast/Weather Underground are identical

High 81° Low 62° Scattered showers and thunderstorms. High 81F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Amount: 0.09 in.

Weather Bug

High 80° Low 62° Partly cloudy. High temperature around 80°F. Dew point with be around 64°F with an average humidity of 78. Winds will be out of the south southeast around 2 mph.

Macon Media

Highs Franklin area upper 70s to low 80s Nantahala, Highlands and higher elevation will be in the 70s. Skies partly to mostly cloudy. Showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon are likely. Coverage will be in a hit or miss summer pattern. Some places in the county will be clear during totality and others will not.

The forecast brings up another potential problem for the days before and during the day of the eclipse. If it starts becoming more evident that there will be a good chance of cloudiness or storms in the area on the afternoon of the eclipse, people will start moving to a location where they think they will have a better chance of seeing totality. This may cause a traffic jam on roads that lead out of Macon County. People may seek to go to Georgia or South Carolina (via US-441 South, NC-106, NC-28 South, or US-441 North) if the forecast looks better there, or try to go west (via US-64 West or US-441 North or even NC-28 once those other routes become jammed up with traffic) to Tennessee and Kentucky.

When you look at the forecast over the week, try to keep in mind what this may mean for traffic conditions. If possible, leave for work or play early on the 21st and always let family members and friends know what your plans are. Have a lot of extra water, snacks, and batteries for your electronic devices. You should already have a roadside repair kit and jumper cables in your vehicle. Take an extra supply of patience because people will be frustrated.


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 August 13th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 94°F in Highlands in 1925
Lowest Temperature 42°F in Highlands in 1931
Greatest Rainfall 9.68 inches in Highlands in 1940

Record weather events for August in Macon County

Highest Temperature 99°F in Franklin on Aug 9, 1980
Lowest Temperature 40°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on Aug 29, 1968
Greatest Rainfall 9.68 inches in Highlands on Aug 13, 1940


THREE DAY OUTLOOK



TODAY numerous showers and thunderstorms expected

Patchy fog in the morning. Mostly cloudy with highs in the mid-80s for the Franklin and Otto areas and ranging from the mid-70s to near 80 in Nantahala, Highlands and higher elevations. Variable light winds. Chances of showers and thunderstorms start off at 10% at 6 am and slow ramp up to 50% in the later afternoon hours. Coverage of these storms will be a hit or miss summer pattern. Rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch are expected in locations that see rain.


TONIGHT

Mostly cloudy with fog expected to develop after 10 pm and calm winds. Lows in the 60s. 40% chance of rain.




MONDAY

Mostly cloudy with highs in the low to mid-80s in the Franklin and Otto areas. Nantahala, Highlands and higher elevations will be in the mid to upper 70s. Showers and thunderstorms are likely, with a greater chance and more coverage than Sunday.

MONDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the 60s and calm winds. Showers and thunderstorms are likely, mainly before midnight.



TUESDAY

Mostly cloudy with highs ranging from the mid-70s to the mid-80s. Showers and thunderstorms are likely, especially after 3 pm.

TUESDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the 60s and about a 30% chance of rain.

HAZARDS

Numerous showers and thunderstorms will develop again today and tonight across the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia. Very heavy rainfall and isolated flash flooding will once again be the primary threat, especially in locations that saw heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours, and in any locations repeatedly affected by thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Otherwise, expect cloud-to-ground lightning and locally heavy rainfall with any of the thunderstorms. A few thunderstorms may also be accompanied by gusty winds.

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

We are now in the time frame of where storms that develop in the Caribbean Sea or Atlantic Basin could impact our view of the solar eclipse on August 21st.

Tropical Depression EIGHT has formed in the Atlantic and may become a hurricane before encountering wind shear and curving back out onto the Atlantic. This storm poses no danger to the east coast at this time.


Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Sun Aug 13 2017

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

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on newly formed Tropical Depression Eight, located about 260 miles east of the southeastern Bahamas.

1. A tropical wave that has just emerged off the west coast of Africa is forecast to move westward over the next couple of days and merge with a broad area of low pressure located southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. Thereafter, environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for gradual development of the system while it moves westward to west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph over the open tropical Atlantic Ocean.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...low...20 percent.

ECLIPSE EVENTS (events listed here are paid sponsorships)

RABUN COUNTY

Rabun County, Georgia has a county-wide “Outasight” eclipse viewing party planned for August 21st at the Rabun Gap Nacoochee School. More information may be found at
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/georgias-total-solar-eclipse-outasight-viewing-party-at-rgns-tickets-36172624293

Other events happening in and near Rabun County the weekend of the eclipse can be found on the Explore Rabun website at http://explorerabun.com/events-happening-total-solar-eclipse-rabun-county-georgia/

BRYSON CITY ECLIPSE WEEKEND

Bryson City invites you to a weekend of celebrating the eclipse. To find out more information, visit their page at https://www.greatsmokies.com/2017eclipse.html

Bryson City is recommended by TravelChannel.com as the spot in North Carolina to watch the eclipse.


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 nonprofit groups, except for groups or events that receive funding from the TDA, TDC, and EDC, where full rates apply.


September 27th, WEDNESDAY

HOSPICE HOUSE FOUNDATION OF WNC

PEACEFUL JOURNEY
3rd annual charity dining event
hosted by RISTORANTE PAOLETTI at 440 Main Street in Highlands

For information, visit http://hhfwnc.org/peaceful-journey/


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.



Sun and Moon

Sun

Begin civil twilight 6:25 a.m.
Sunrise 6:52 a.m.
Sun transit 1:38 p.m.
Sunset 8:24 p.m.
End civil twilight 8:51 p.m.

Moon

Moonrise 9:48 p.m. last night
Moon transit 3:37 a.m.
Moonset 9:32 a.m.
Moonrise 10:23 p.m.

Moonrise 11:34 p.m. last night
Moon transit 6:02 a.m.
Moonset 12:38 p.m.

Closest Primary Moon Phase: Last Quarter on August 14, 2017, at 9:15 p.m. (local daylight time)

Phase of the Moon on August 13, 2017: Waning Gibbous with 66% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
The next New Moon will occur during a total solar eclipse at 2:36:40 pm on August 21, 2017.


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

I will be posting an August Update in the next few days on our patreon campaign, which has reached 25 people who have pledged $294. Payout is on August 6th.

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. Macon Media rewards early sponsors/underwriters with lifetime guaranteed low rates while newer sponsors/underwriters pay higher rates based on the date they first support Macon Media.

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 4:40 am on August 13, 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.