Daily Weather Briefing for Saturday, August 26, 2017

LOCAL OUTLOOK

High-pressure building across the region will introduce an extended period of unseasonably cool conditions that is expected to last through the weekend. Increasing moisture early next week will result in expanding coverage of showers. Tropical moisture may spread north out of the Gulf and into the Southeast later next week.

Potential Impacts of Hurricane HARVEY

Hurricane HARVEY has made landfall in Texas and current forecasts are for the storm to “meander” in the general area for the next few days. If this happens, it will bring catastrophic flooding to that region not seen in more than a generation. Eventually, the storm will move on and decay. The moisture from this storm could impact our region as early as next weekend.

The first impacts of the storm on our region will be higher fuel prices. The longer the storm lasts, the more our supply of fuel from the Gulf region will be impacted. We will see higher prices at the pump and shortages may be possible, if we use what happened after Hurricane IKE in September 2008 as a guide. Plan now for making fewer trips to the store and do your part by simply driving less and only going out when it is necessary and don't top off your fuel tank every day...that simple act, if most people do it, can cause more stress on our fuel supply system than a hurricane.


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 26th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 93°F in Franklin in 1954
Lowest Temperature 42°F in Highlands in 1917
Greatest Rainfall 2.89 inches in Franklin in 2006


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

Patchy fog in the morning. Partly sunny with highs near 80 in Franklin and the main valley of the county and 5 to 10 degrees cooler in Highlands and the higher elevations. Variable light winds. Rain chances will increase from 5% at 6 am to 20% at 6 pm. A stray shower may be possible. The greatest chance will be between 5 pm and 8 pm.


TONIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows near 60 and calm winds. The Highlands area and higher elevations will be 5 to 10 degrees cooler. Slight chance of a passing shower, mainly before 9 pm.



SUNDAY

Partly sunny with highs near the upper 70s to 80 and light winds out of the southeast.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows near 60 and light winds out of the east.



MONDAY

Mostly sunny with highs near the upper 70s to near 80.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the upper 50s to near 60.

HAZARDS

Hazardous weather is not expected today.

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 Sat Aug 26 2017

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

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Hurricane Harvey, located over the western Gulf of Mexico.

1. A broad area of low pressure continues to produce a large area of disorganized cloudiness and thunderstorms over southern and central Florida and the adjacent waters. Some development is possible through early next week while this system moves over the western Atlantic, before it merges with a front. Regardless of development, heavy rain and flooding is possible over portions of southern and central Florida, and the northwestern Bahamas during the next few days. In addition, this system is expected to cause increasing northeast winds and rough surf along the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas through early next week. Please refer to products from your local weather office for more information on this system.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...30 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...medium...50 percent.

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 6:36 a.m.
Sunrise 7:02 a.m.
Sun transit 1:35 p.m.
Sunset 8:08 p.m.
End civil twilight 8:34 p.m.

Moon

Moonrise 11:49 a.m.
Moon transit 5:36 p.m.
Moonset 11:18 p.m.

Phase of the Moon on August 26, 2017: Waxing Crescent with 25% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

Closest Primary Moon Phase: First Quarter on August 29, 2017 at 4:13 a.m. (local daylight time)




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. 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 4:15 am on August 26, 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.