Daily Weather Briefing for Tuesday, August 22, 2017

LOCAL NEWS



Some of you may have heard that we were going to have a total solar eclipse in Macon County. We had one yesterday and it was an awesome experience, even if a cloud did dampen the potential of the event. It was still a 12 on a 0 to 10 scale. The Carpetbagger, a regional vlogger, was in Franklin for the eclipse, and here is his experience from yesterday:

A more detailed post-eclipse article will be published later this week.



LOCAL OUTLOOK

Typical late summer conditions will persist ahead of an approaching cold front, which will reach our area Wednesday. A large region of surface high pressure will then gradually build into the area late this week through the weekend, bringing unseasonably cool and dry air.




Weather Almanac for August 22nd (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 99°F in Franklin in 198
Lowest Temperature 42°F in Highlands in 1918
Greatest Rainfall 3.58 inches in Highlands in 1969

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


OUTLOOK



TODAY

Widespread fog this morning. Partly sunny with highs in the mid to upper 80s in the Franklin and Otto areas in the main valley and 5 to 10 degrees cooler in Highlands and the higher elevations. Variable winds this morning, then from the west-southwest in the afternoon. Rain chances will increase during the day, reaching 40% by 6 pm.


TONIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows in the mid-60s and winds out of the southwest calming before midnight. 30% chance of rain, mainly before 3 am.


The three-day outlook will return tomorrow.

HAZARDS

Isolated thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and evening. The primary hazards will be gusty winds, frequent lightning, and locally heavy rain.

The best chance will be Wednesday as a cold front moves across the region. A few storms could be strong, especially Wednesday, with gusty winds, frequent lightning, and locally heavy rain.


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



Sun and Moon

Sun

Begin civil twilight 6:32 a.m.
Sunrise 6:59 a.m.
Sun transit 1:36 p.m.
Sunset 8:13 p.m.
End civil twilight 8:40 p.m.

Moon

Moonrise 7:47 a.m.
Moon transit 2:28 p.m.
Moonset 9:01 p.m.


Phase of the Moon: Waxing Crescent with 1% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
Closest Primary Moon Phase: New Moon on August 21, 2017, at 2:30 p.m





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]

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Published at 3:55 am on August 22, 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.