Daily Weather Briefing for Thursday, September 14, 2017

Power Outage Update
Data as of 4:30 am on 09-14-2017

Macon County - 2,586
1,848 Duke Energy
738 Haywood EMC

Jackson County - 4,517
3,623 Duke Energy
894 Haywood EMC

Rabun County - 6,837
4,595 Georgia Power
109 Haywood EMC
2,133 Habersham EMC

Here is a chart from Duke Energy Carolinas that shows the progress they've been making in North and South Carolina on the outage situation.





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

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 finally will move up the Ohio Valley through Friday, but still could bring a few showers over our area today. Weak high pressure will build across the area Friday and persist into early next week, keeping rain chances low. Hurricane Jose is forecast to remain over the Atlantic and appears unlikely to impact the Carolinas or Georgia.



WEATHER SPONSOR



Adams Products, a Division of Oldcastle is underwriting the daily weather briefing and public safety updates for the month. We 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. Special Event – Wed 09-20-17 7:30-10:00 AM - OX Tool Fair – Info on FB page.

Visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC/

Phone number is 828.524.8545, all are welcome, let us help you with your next project.



Weather Almanac for September 13th (1872-2016)

This section suspended for today due to lack of time


THREE DAY OUTLOOK



TODAY

Scattered showers, mainly before 4pm. Patchy fog in the morning. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 72 in the Franklin area and 5 to 10 degrees cooler in Highlands and the higher elevations. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

TONIGHT

Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low in the Franklin area around 56 and 5 to 8 degrees cooler in Highlands and the higher elevations. Calm wind.



FRIDAY

Patchy fog in the morning. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the 70s. Light winds out of the west.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows in the 50s and calm winds.



SATURDAY

Mostly sunny with highs ranging from 70 in the higher elevations to near 80 in the Franklin area. Winds are expected to be calm.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows ranging from around 50 in the higher elevations to nearly 60 in the Franklin area.

HAZARDS

There is no hazardous weather in the forecast. 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


This section suspended for today due to lack of time


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.



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

This section suspended for today due to time considerations



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



Posted at 5:00 am on September 14, 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.