Daily Weather Briefing for Monday, September 11, 2017

Hurricane IRMA

Summary of Expected Impacts

Our impacts will be mostly wind-related with sustained winds overnight on Monday expected to be in the 15 to 35 mph range with gusts in the 40 to 50 mph range by midnight Monday. Ridges and mountain tops will be seeing higher wind speeds and some of those locations could see occasional hurricane force wind gusts. If you have an emergency situation during the storm, please call 911. If you have a non-emergency situation, call 828-369-9116. This number should not be called for informational requests. Macon County is under a State of Emergency. You can read a copy of the declaration on the blog at http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/macon-county-under-state-of-emergency.html

POWER OUTAGES

Power outages are likely to be widespread. Here are resources to report outages and safety tips.

Duke Energy

Call 800.769.3766 or in Spanish 866.4.Apagón (866.427.2466).

If you see a fallen power line or safety hazard, call Duke Energy at 800.Power.On (800.769.3766) or in Spanish 866.4.Apagón (866.427.2466) or contact your local emergency services immediately. Do not touch a power line or anything in contact with it and keep others away until help arrives.

Haywood EMC

To report or inquire about power outages, call 1-800-951-6088

LOCAL OUTLOOK

Dry high pressure will stay over the Northeast States as Irma crosses southwest Georgia today and reaches northern Alabama early Tuesday. Wind and rain will increase across our region today and tonight then gradually taper off on Tuesday. The remnants of Irma may move west and stall on Wednesday, then shift back east over the mountains aided by an incoming cold front.



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.


DAY SPONSOR

Carrion Tree Service is underwriting the daily weather briefing and public safety updates for today. they are a fully licensed and insured tree service, specializing in dangerous tree removal, view clearing, pruning, and crane services with a 24 Hour emergency response.

Their phone number is 371-4718. They are located at 120 Depot Street.

They can handle all your tree removal needs in good or bad weather.


Weather Almanac for September 11th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 93°F in Highlands in 1925
Lowest Temperature 37°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1976
Greatest Rainfall 4.14 inches in Highlands in 1893


Record weather events for September in Macon County

Highest Temperature 98°F in Franklin on Sept 4, 1975
Lowest Temperature 27°F in Franklin on Sept 30, 1967
Greatest Rainfall 11.87 inches in Highlands on Sept 29, 1967


THREE DAY OUTLOOK



TODAY (invokes Ned Stark “IRMA is coming”)

Rainy and increasing winds today, mainly out of the northwest. Temperatures will start off in the lower 50s and will reach the mid-60s in the afternoon in the Franklin and main valley. Highlands and the higher elevations will be slightly lower. The National Weather Service says the winds will be gradually increasing to 8 to 15 mph out of the northwest and shifting to come out of the east this morning, with gusts near 25 mph. By 6 pm, the winds should be about 25 mph with gusts in the 30 to 35 mph range out of the northwest. Fog is expected to develop in the afternoon hours. Rainfall amounts between a quarter and half an inch expected, with more possible in locations that see rain bands pass through. (My thought is the wind should be coming from the southeast early, then shifting to come out of the northeast as the day progresses, but since the NWS calls for the wind out of the northwest, I am going with their forecast).

TONIGHT (More Game of Thrones: “IRMA is here”)

Showers and patchy fog overnight. Breezy, with a northwest wind 20 to 25 mph becoming southeast after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible.



TUESDAY

Showers likely. Cloudy, with highs near the mid to upper 60s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

TUESDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows near the mid-50s in the Franklin area and 5 to 8 degrees cooler in Highlands and the higher elevations. Winds out of the southeast coming before midnight.



WEDNESDAY

Partly sunny with highs in the lower 70s. Chance of showers in the afternoon.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the upper-50s with Highlands and the higher elevation being 5 to 8 degrees cooler. 40% chance of rain.

HAZARDS

Rain and wind are in the forecast. There may be widely scattered power outages today and tonight. The forecast impact of IRMA is not as great as it once was.

There will probably be no widespread flooding, but widespread power outages are possible. Macon County is under a State of Emergency and people are not allowed to drive on flooded roadways. You can see a copy of the document signed by the chairman of the Macon County Commissioner on the blog at http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/macon-county-under-state-of-emergency.html

We are also under a High Wind Warning and a copy of that is posted below.



***High Wind Warning***
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
1030 PM EDT Sun Sep 10 2017

...STRONG WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH IRMA WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF THE AREA MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...

.A strong pressure gradient between Irma to our west and high pressure to our northeast will create increasingly strong winds and wind gusts Monday into Monday night.


...HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM MONDAY TO 2 AM EDT TUESDAY...

* LOCATIONS...Northeast Georgia, the western Upstate of South Carolina, and the southern mountains of North Carolina.

* HAZARDS...Strong winds will combine with increasingly saturated soils to bring down trees and possibly power lines.

* TIMING...Winds will increase Monday morning becoming strong by afternoon. The strong winds will continue into the evening.

* WINDS...Northeast 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph.

* IMPACTS...Strong winds may blow down limbs, trees, and power lines. Scattered power outages are expected.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Please report damaging winds by calling the National Weather Service toll free at...1...800...2 6 7...8 1 0 1. Leave a message with your observation and the specific location where it occurred. You can also post your report to National Weather Service Greenville Spartanburg Facebook or tweet your report using hashtag #nwsgsp.

Macon Media maintains a Severe Weather Preparedness Page at http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/p/breaking-news-hub.html for those who are interested.


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 Mon Sep 11 2017

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

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Hurricane Irma, located inland over west-central Florida. The Weather Prediction Center is issuing advisories on Hurricane Jose, located a few hundred miles north of the Dominican Republic.

1. A tropical wave located several hundred miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands continues to produce disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Some development of this system is possible during the next couple of days before upper-level winds become unfavorable for tropical cyclone formation. This system is expected to move west-northwestward for the next two days and then turn northward over the central Atlantic.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...30 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...medium...40 percent.




Hurricane Irma Discussion Number 48
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL112017
1100 PM EDT Sun Sep 10 2017

Irma's center has moved northward across the western Florida peninsula since it made landfall earlier this afternoon, and it is now located over west-central Florida. NOAA WSR-88D radar data from Tampa Bay are showing 95-100 kt winds at an elevation of about 3500 ft, so the hurricane's intensity is estimated to be 85 kt. Irma continues to have a large wind field, and exceptional hurricane-force wind gusts are still occurring well to the east of the center along the Florida east coast.

Irma appears to be making some progress to the west of due north, and the longer-term initial motion is 350/12 kt. The cyclone is expected to swing around the eastern side of a mid-level disturbance currently located along the U.S. Gulf Coast, which should impart a north-northwestward to northwestward motion during the next 48 hours. Due to its recent more inland push, Irma's center is now forecast to remain over Florida and then move over the southeastern United States for the duration of its existence. Due to continued land interaction and strong shear of over 30 kt, Irma should continue to lose strength and fall below hurricane intensity on Monday. The cyclone is then expected to become a remnant low over western Tennessee by day 3 and dissipate by day 4.

KEY MESSAGES:

1. There is the danger of life-threatening storm surge flooding along much of the Florida coast, including the Florida Keys, and portions of the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, where a Storm Surge Warning remains in effect.

2. Irma will continue to bring life-threatening wind impacts to much of Florida, with hurricane-force winds near the center. Also, Irma is a large hurricane, and hurricane-force wind gusts and sustained tropical-storm force winds extend far from the center.
Wind hazards from Irma will also spread northward through Georgia and into portions of Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

3. Irma continues to produce very heavy rain and inland flooding across much of Florida, and these rains will spread into the rest of the southeast United States. Intense rainfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour is leading to flash flooding and rapid rises on creeks, streams, and rivers. Significant river flooding is likely over the next five days in the Florida peninsula and southern Georgia, where average rainfall totals of 8 to 15 inches and isolated 20 inch amounts are expected. Significant river flooding is possible beginning Monday and Tuesday in much of eastern and central Georgia, western South Carolina, and western North Carolina, where average rainfall of 3 to 8 inches and isolated 12 inch amounts are expected. The southern Appalachian Mountains will be especially vulnerable to flash flooding. Irma is also expected to produce average amounts of 2 to 5 inches in parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, where isolated higher amounts and local flooding may occur.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INIT 11/0300Z 27.5N 81.9W 85 KT 100 MPH...INLAND
12H 11/1200Z 29.4N 82.8W 65 KT 75 MPH...INLAND
24H 12/0000Z 31.9N 84.7W 45 KT 50 MPH...INLAND
36H 12/1200Z 33.9N 86.8W 30 KT 35 MPH...INLAND
48H 13/0000Z 35.0N 88.6W 25 KT 30 MPH...INLAND
72H 14/0000Z 37.5N 87.8W 20 KT 25 MPH...POST-TROP/INLAND
96H 15/0000Z...DISSIPATED



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.


Friday, September 8th at 1:00 pm

BUTTERFLY WALK AT HIGHLANDS BIOLOGICAL STATION

James T. Costa, Ph.D. will lead a free nature walk with an emphasis on butterflies at 1 pm Friday Sept. 8 at the Highlands Biological Station, 265 N. 6th St. Highlands. He is Director of the research station and a biology professor at Western Carolina University. For those who want to carpool from Franklin, we will meet at Bi-Lo's parking lot at 12:15 pm. Please email Renee at Rubinlive@gmail.com if you are interested so you may be informed of any changes due to weather.
In addition, Dr. Costa will speak at 6:30 pm Sept. 8 at City Lights in Sylva about his new book, Darwin's Backyard: How Small Experiments Led to a Big Theory.

The Future Farmers of America are selling Raffle Tickets
More information is posted below:

Support Franklin FFA (Future Farmers of America)
!!! RAFFLE TICKETS !!!!

$5.00 a ticket or 5 for $20.00

Winner announced & does not be present at The Macon County Fair 2017
September 13-16, 2017 at The Wayne Proffitt Agriculture Center - Macon County Fairgrounds, 1436 Georgia Rd, Franklin NC 28734
Raffle is for Adventure Package, valued at $300.00...

Items are:
1. Cargo Carrier ( donated by Ultimate Truck Accessories) - can be used atop an SUV/Van or rear hitch
2. Foldable Camp Chairs in Camo with Table
3. Burn Fire Log (Swedish Flame Torch)
4. Lighter
5. Heavy Duty Flashlight
6. "Over the flame" cooking basket
7. Roasting Sticks
8. Bug Spray

We thank Appalachian Ace Hardware for their support.

*All proceeds go to Franklin FFA & FHS Ag Dept*
Contact Gregory Charles Spala via FB or 813-838-7693 text or call
Or Lori Spala via FB or 813-503-2160


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 6:48 a.m.
Sunrise 7:14 a.m.
Sun transit 1:30 p.m.
Sunset 7:46 p.m.
End civil twilight 8:11 p.m.

Moon

Moonrise 10:53 p.m. last night
Moon transit 5:44 a.m.
Moonset 12:41 p.m.
Moonrise 11:37 p.m.


Phase of the Moon on September 11, 2017: Waning Gibbous with 68% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
Closest Primary Moon Phase: Last Quarter on September 13, 2017 at 2:25 a.m. (local daylight time)





Sky Guides for this week

I took some epic photos of the solar eclipse, but have not yet had time to process them. I will be producing material from the photos and video for sale as a fundraiser for Macon Media. --Bobby

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 4:43 am on September 11, 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.