Daily Weather Briefing for Thursday, September 21, 2017

LOCAL OUTLOOK

A weak trough of low pressure will settle over the southeast coastline today. A humid easterly flow will develop through Friday. A drier and stronger ridge of high pressure will settle across the region over the weekend and likely persist through early next week.

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 21st (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 91°F in Highlands in 1978
Lowest Temperature 31°F in Highlands in 1918
Greatest Rainfall 2.78 inches in Highlands in 1923


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

Widespread dense fog this morning. Cloudy, becoming mostly clear by mid-morning with highs in the Franklin area in the lower 80s and 5 to 10 degrees cooler in Highlands and the higher elevations. Winds are expected to be calm. Showers and thunderstorm chances increase this afternoon to around 30%, mainly after 2 pm the then declining after midnight.

TONIGHT

Partly cloudy with chances of showers and thunderstorms ending after midnight and patchy fog expected to develop between 11 pm and 3 am. Lows in the Franklin area near 60 and 5 to 8 degrees cooler in the higher elevations. Winds are expected to be calm or very light from the north and northeast.



FRIDAY

Mostly sunny with highs near 80 in the Franklin area and 5 to 10 degrees cooler in the higher elevations. Winds are expected to be calm or very light, beginning the day coming out of the north and then rotating around clockwise to come out of the southeast by the mid-afternoon as a high pressure approaches the region from the northeast. 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly afternoon.

FRIDAY NIGHT

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



SATURDAY

Mostly sunny with highs ranging from the mid 70s at the higher elevations to the lower elevations in the valleys. Slight chance of a passing shower or thunderstorm in the afternoon.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Mostly clear with lows in the 50s.

HAZARDS

After the dense fog burns away, no hazardous weather is expected.

Please turn on your headlights for your morning commute so other motorists can see you and increase your following distance to increase your reaction time.

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 Thu Sep 21 2017

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

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Tropical Storm Jose, located a couple of hundred miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and on Hurricane Maria, located less than one hundred miles northeast of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

1. Shower and thunderstorm activity associated with the remnants of Lee remain very limited. Upper-level winds are expected to remain unfavorable for significant development during the next several days. The low is forecast to move north-northwestward or northward over the open waters of the central Atlantic Ocean.

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

Tropical Tidbits

An in depth discussion from Wednesday evening of the tropical situation with an analysis of the potential paths for Hurricane Maria from Levi Cowan of Tropical Tidbits. [LINK]

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 6:56 a.m.
Sunrise 7:21 a.m.
Sun transit 1:26 p.m.
Sunset 7:31 p.m.
End civil twilight 7:57 p.m.


Moon

Moonrise 8:37 a.m.
Moon transit 2:42 p.m.
Moonset 8:41 p.m.

Phase of the Moon on September 21, 2017: Waxing Crescent with 2% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
Closest Primary Moon Phase: New Moon on September 20, 2017 at 1:30 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



Posted at 3:40 am on September 21, 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.