Daily Weather Briefing for Thursday, April 19, 2018

LOCAL OUTLOOK

Temperatures will warm once again through midweek, but then another cold front will move through the area on Wednesday night, bringing a chance of rain to the mountains. Dry and seasonal conditions are expected for the end of the week.


WEATHER SPONSOR



Adams Products, a Division of Oldcastle is underwriting the daily weather briefing & public safety updates for the month.

Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC. Visit our Facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC/

All your masonry needs are available. Our phone number is 828.524.8545, the public is welcome, we’ll help with your with your next project.





Weather Almanac for April 19th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 88°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1976
Lowest Temperature 17°F in Highlands in 1983
Greatest Rainfall 4.46 inches in Highlands in 1901
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 1.0 inches in Highlands in 1983

Record Weather Events for April (1872-2017)

Highest Temperature 91°F in Franklin on April 26, 1986
Lowest Temperature 13°F in Highlands on April 1, 1987
Greatest Rainfall 7.00 inches in Highlands on April 7, 1895
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 9.5 inches in Franklin on April 4, 1987



THREE DAY OUTLOOK

The images below represent the daily forecast at 8 am for today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Click on any of them to enlarge.




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FRANKLIN AREA

TODAY (Outdoor Burning Not Recommended)

Mostly sunny, with a high in the mid-50s. Winds 10 to 15 mph out of the northwest, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Winds will peak between 10 am and 8 pm. Relative humidities will be near or below 30% in the afternoon. Outdoor burning is not recommended.

TONIGHT

Clear, with a low around 32. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light after midnight.

FRIDAY

Patchy frost before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 68. Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Clear, with a low around 36. North northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

SATURDAY

Sunny, with a high near 68.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy, with a low around 41.

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OTTO AREA

TODAY (Outdoor Burning Not Recommended)

Clear, with a low around 32. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light after midnight. Winds will peak between 10 am and 8 pm. Relative humidities will be near or below 30% in the afternoon. Outdoor burning is not recommended.

TONIGHT

Clear with lows near freezing. Winds 5 to 10 mph out of the northwest, becoming light after midnight.

FRIDAY

Patchy frost before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 68. Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Clear, with a low around 36. North northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

SATURDAY

Sunny with highs in the upper 60s.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows in the lower 40s.

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HIGHLANDS AREA

TODAY (Outdoor Burning Not Recommended)

Sunny with highs in the upper 40s and windy. Winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts in the 35 to 40 mph. Winds will peak between 8 am and 11 am. Outdoor burning is not not recommended today.

TONIGHT

Clear with lows near freezing and wind chill values in the 20s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph with gusts in the 25 to 30 mph range.

FRIDAY

Sunny with highs in the upper 50s. Winds 5 to 10 mph out of the north.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Clear with lows near the mid-30s and winds out of the northeast.

SATURDAY

Sunny with highs in the mid-50s.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows near 40.

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NANTAHALA AREA

TODAY (Outdoor Burning Not Recommended)

Mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40s and winds 10 to 15 mph out of the northwest with gusts in the 25 to 30 mph range.

TONIGHT

Mostly clear with lows near freezing and wind chill values in the upper 20s. Winds 5 to 10 mph out of the north with gusts s high as 20 mph.

FRIDAY

Sunny with highs near 60. Winds 5 to 10 mph out of the northwest.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Clear with lows in the mid-to-upper 30s. Winds out of the northwest becoming light and variable after midnight.

SATURDAY

Sunny with highs in the low-to-mid 60s.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows near 40.

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GOES 16 GeoColor - True Color daytime, multispectral IR at night
12:37 am to 3:32 am this morning


HAZARDS (Increased Fire Danger)

Due to a combination of high winds and humidity levels that will drop below 30% today and tomorrow, outdoor burning is not recommended. Any fires that get out of control will be in danger of spreading very rapidly.

The National Weather Service has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook and a Special Weather Statement regarding the increased fire danger due to low humidity and high winds and copies have been posted below for your convenience.

NWS Hazardous Weather Outlook

..THURSDAY...Wildfire danger possible. Low relative humidities and strong winds may lead to high fire danger.

***Special Weather Statement***
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
732 PM EDT Wed Apr 18 2018

...INCREASED FIRE DANGER FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING...

Despite cooler temperatures Thursday in the wake of a cold front, relative humidity will remain low. Strong, breezy northwesterly winds with gusts of 25 to 35 mph, will combine with relative humidity levels dipping as low as 25 to 30 percent creating elevated fire danger conditions again on Thursday across western North Carolina.

Please refer to your local burn permitting authorities on whether you can burn today or Thursday. If you do burn, you are advised to use extreme caution.

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



3:37 am this morning



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 graphics. 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.



REVIVAL TO START WITH COVERED DISH SUPPER
Patton United Methodist Church, 119 Patton Church Road Franklin, will be starting their Revival this Sunday the 22nd at 6.30pm, with a covered dish supper beforehand at 5.30pm.
Pastor Dugar Strickland from Maysville Methodist Church in Maysville, GA will be leading their Revival. It will continue on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 7pm.


OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

I am writing to thank the residents of Franklin, Highlands, and Macon County for spreading joy to children around the world this Christmas. Through the generosity of the Macon County community, 4,636 shoeboxes were collected; and the Western North Carolina Area Team was able to exceed our goal by collecting 20,038 shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind. The International total for 2017 was 11,012,840 shoeboxes!

As National Volunteer Week (April 15 – 21) approaches, I wanted to pass along information about an opportunity for Macon County residents to join a local volunteer team with Operation Christmas Child. This project of the international Christian relief organization, Samaritan’s Purse, sends gift-filled shoeboxes to millions of children in need each year and gives local residents the opportunity to make a worldwide impact. “National Volunteer Week is a great time to become a part of this international project,” said June Trull, who heads up the Western North Carolina Area Team of Operation Christmas Child.“Joining an Operation Christmas Child Area Team is an amazing way to give back year-round and share God’s love with children in need.”



Operation Christmas Child has delivered more than 157 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries since 1993. This year, the local Western North Carolina Area Team hopes to collect 21,000 shoebox gifts to contribute to the 2018 global goal of reaching more than 11 million children in need.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Thank You
Brenda Hackett
Samaritan's Purse
Media Support
Western North Carolina Area Team
Operation Christmas Child
828-369-6674/ bjandhack@hotmail.com
samaritanspurse.org/occnewsroom



COMMUNITY WALK ON THE GREENWAY

The Friends of the Greenway invites the community to participate in a "Walk on the Greenway" on April 21, 2018 at 10:30 AM beginning at the Macon County Library (on Siler Rd). Sunny Himes will lead about a 2 mile walk, highlighting several natural communities including a Red Cedar-Hardwood Woodland, Montane Alluvial Forest, and Floodplain wetlands. Discussion points will be historic and current uses of the land around the Greenway, how these uses shaped today's terrain and plant community compositions, and the challenges of wildland restoration in a popular urban park. Ms. Himes is a lecturer at Western Carolina University in botany, ecology and introduction biology. She is a past FROG Board member and continues to manage restoration projects on the Greenway. A $5 donation is suggested for this benefit walk. Send email of your interest in participating on the walk to: frog28734@gmail.com.




From Bully to Buddy, A Community Forum
Please note this forum is now taking place on the 26th of April

Bullying affects us all in different ways. Let’s work this out together.
Sincere invitations to the bully, the bullied and those in between — all ages — all genders Featuring: interaction, role playing, dialogue, discovery and direction (and some fun!)

This forum will be taking place on Wednesday, April 26 at 6 PM - 8 PM
pin in Tartan Hall at First Presbyterian Church, 26 Church Street, Franklin, NC

Join the event page on Facebook to find out more and to receive updates. [LINK]


Series of Dementia Workshops Coming in March and April

A campaign to tackle the stigma and lack of understanding around dementia is underway in Macon County with the support of area churches, the Southwestern Commission Area Agency on Aging, Macon County Public Library, Angel Medical, Macon County Senior Services, and Macon County DSS.

Hickory Knoll United Methodist Church has partnered with a growing list of area churches throughout Macon County to host a workshop series, ‘Dementia Friends NC’ beginning on Tuesdays, March 20, 2018. Designed to help build awareness about dementia and identify ways local citizens can help people who are living with it in our community, the four-session workshop series is being made possible through a Missional Engagement Team Grant of the Smoky Mountain District of The United Methodist Church.

The 90-minute sessions will take place on four consecutive Tuesdays, beginning March 20, 2018, with both afternoon and evening sessions offered, as well as choice of venue.  All 2:00 p.m. sessions will be offered at the John & Dorothy Crawford Senior Center.   All 7:00 p.m. sessions will be offered at the Macon County Public Library.

ALL WORKSHOPS WILL BE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

More information, including a schedule of meeting locations and times, are on the blog. [LINK]

Uptown Gallery classes
(These are on-going classes – repeat weekly)

Free classes and open studio times are being offered at the The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Join others at a painting open studio session every Tuesday from 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm or on Thursday from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm. 

Bring your own materials and join an on-going drawing course led by gallery artists on Fridays, from 11am – 2 pm. For information on days open, hours and additional art classes and workshops, contact the gallery on 30 East Main Street at (828) 349 – 4607.




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

DATA UNAVAILABLE FOR TODAY


Phase of the Moon on April 18, 2018: Waxing Crescent with 9% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
Closest Primary Moon Phase: New Moon on April 15, 2018 at 9:57 p.m. (local daylight time)

Sky Guides for this week


Sky and Telescope Magazine 
Astronomy Magazine


There will be three solar and two lunar eclipses in 2018. [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]

CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

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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

4:00 am on April 18, 2018

#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.