Daily Weather Briefing for Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Hurricane IRMA

The wind field of the remnants of IRMA combined with a high-pressure system to send high winds into Macon County last night and early this morning, leaving over 8,000 Maconians without electrical service and over 11,000 in Jackson County and over 7,000 in Rabun County also spent all or part of last night in the same condition.



As of 4 am, Duke Energy Carolinas had over 160,000 without service and Georgia Power had over 848,000 without service and Haywood EMC had just over 10,000 customers without service. All these power utilities have crews out working to restore electrical service as fast as they can safely do it, with more crews from other states on the way to assist.

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

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

The remnants of Irma will cross northern Alabama today and move over western Tennessee tonight. Wind and rain will diminish over our area today. The remnants of Irma will drift east across the Ohio Valley through Friday giving parts of our region more showers. Hurricane Jose is currently forecast to remain out over the Atlantic through next week.



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 September 12th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 92°F in Franklin in 1962
Lowest Temperature 36°F in Highlands in 1917
Greatest Rainfall 2.34 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

Cloudy with temperatures starting off in the low 60s and reaching the mid-60s for a high in the Franklin area and a few degrees cooler in Highlands and the higher elevations. It will be breezy with winds out of the east and southeast, gusting to around 20 mph at times. Rain chances will diminish from 60% chance at 6 am to 30% chance at 6 pm. Rainfall amounts should be in the neighborhood of a tenth to a quarter of an inch.

TONIGHT

Cloudy with patchy fog developing overnight and lows in the upper 50s in the Franklin area and 5 to 8 degrees cooler in Highlands and the higher elevations. Winds should become light and variable after midnight. 40% chance of rain with rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch expected.



WEDNESDAY

Partly sunny with highs in the lower 70s in the Franklin area and 5 to 8 degrees cooler in Highlands and the higher elevations. Winds will shift from out of the southeast to 5 to 10 mph out of the south by mid-morning. 30% chance of showers, mainly in the afternoon.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

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



THURSDAY

Mostly cloudy with highs in the low to mid-70s. 30% chance of showers.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the 50s.

HAZARDS

There is no hazardous weather in the forecast. All wind warnings and watches have been canceled, effective at 4 am. That does not mean there are no longer any hazards. There are still numerous trees down in Macon County, and some of them may be in roadways and a number of them may be wrapped in power lines. Do not try to cut trees that have power lines in them because if they are energized, you could be injured or killed.


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 Tue Sep 12 2017

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

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Hurricane Jose, located several hundred miles north-northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The National Hurricane Center has issued its last advisory on Tropical Depression Irma, located inland over western Georgia. Subsequent advisories will be issued by the Weather Prediction Center in Washington, DC.

1. Widespread showers and thunderstorms associated with a tropical wave located several hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands are poorly organized. Upper-level winds are not expected to support significant development while the system moves northwestward to northward for the next few days.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...10 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...low...10 percent.



Hurricane Irma Discussion Number 52
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL112017
1100 PM EDT Mon Sep 11 2017

Irma continues to move farther inland and is approaching the Georgia-Alabama border, with a large rain shield spread across much of the southeastern United States. There have been no surface reports of sustained tropical-storm-force winds from within the tropical storm warning areas, so it is assumed that Irma has weakened to a tropical depression with maximum winds of 30 kt. Winds should continue to decrease over the next day or so while Irma remains over land and is hammered by 40 kt of shear. These conditions should also cause the deep convection to die off, and Irma is likely to become a remnant low in about 24 hours. The global models are then in agreement that the remnant low will dissipate by 48 hours.

Irma has turned northwestward with an initial motion of 325/14 kt. The depression is embedded within a larger cyclonic gyre, which is expected to move northwestward through Monday, and then turn north-northwestward over western Tennessee or western Kentucky before it dissipates.

Water levels have fallen below the storm surge warning criteria along the southeastern United States coast and the Florida west coast. The Storm Surge Warnings in those areas have therefore been discontinued.

Future information on this system can be found in Public Advisories issued by the Weather Prediction Center beginning at 5 AM EDT, under AWIPS header TCPAT1, WMO header WTNT31 KWNH, and on the web at http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov.

KEY MESSAGES:

1. Irma continues to produce very heavy rain across the southeastern United States. Intense rainfall rates are leading to flash flooding and rapid rises on creeks, streams, and rivers. Significant river flooding will persist over the Florida peninsula in the wake of Irma and across Georgia, South Carolina and north-central Alabama where additional heavy rains are expected. Portions of these states within the southern Appalachians will be especially vulnerable to flash flooding. Irma is also expected to produce heavy rains in northern Mississippi and southern portions of Tennessee and North Carolina, where local flooding may occur.

2. Storm surge flooding is subsiding along portions of the coasts of western Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INIT 12/0300Z 32.4N 84.9W 30 KT 35 MPH...INLAND
12H 12/1200Z 33.8N 86.4W 25 KT 30 MPH...INLAND
24H 13/0000Z 35.2N 88.2W 25 KT 30 MPH...POST-TROP/INLAND
36H 13/1200Z 36.4N 88.6W 20 KT 25 MPH...POST-TROP/INLAND
48H 14/0000Z...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 6:49 a.m.
Sunrise 7:14 a.m.
Sun transit 1:30 p.m.
Sunset 7:44 p.m.
End civil twilight 8:10 p.m.

Moon

Moonrise 11:37 p.m. last night
Moon transit 6:39 a.m.
Moonset 1:46 p.m.


Phase of the Moon on September 12, 2017: Waning Gibbous with 57% 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 4:27 am on September 12, 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.