Daily Weather Briefing for Friday, May 4, 2018

LOCAL NEWS

The public agenda and agenda packet for the Franklin Town Council has been posted on the blog. [LINK] 

The Scott Knibbs Memorial Fund has been set up to help the family with expenses during this tragic and heartbreaking time. Donations can be dropped off at United Community Bank in Franklin, NC. Checks can also be mailed to:

United Community Bank
257 E Main St
Franklin, NC 28734


The Macon County Sheriffs Office Facebook Page has been taken offline. Read more about why at WYFF-TV [LINK]




Previous coverage of this incident can be found at the following links, in reverse chronological order:

May 3nd Update http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2018/05/wx20180503.html

May 1st linkage to WYFF-TV Story with the family's side of the story (not mirrored on website)
https://www.facebook.com/MaconMediaNews/posts/1718654301514033

May 1st Weather Briefing, Lead Story
http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2018/05/wx20180501.html

Facebook Mirror
https://www.facebook.com/MaconMediaNews/posts/1718014978244632
----------------
April 30th Weather Briefing, Lead Story
http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2018/04/wx20180430.html

Facebook Mirror
https://www.facebook.com/MaconMediaNews/posts/1717036971675766


LOCAL OUTLOOK

High pressure centered near Bermuda will result in a summer-like warm southerly flow over the region through the end of the work week. A weak cold front will move into the area over the weekend bringing a chance of showers and thunderstorms.


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 you with your with your next project.





Weather Almanac for May 4th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 88°F in Franklin in 2007
Lowest Temperature 25°F in Franklin in 1963
Greatest Rainfall 2.52 inches in Highlands in 1946
Greatest One-Day Snowfall No measurable snowfall has been recorded on this date since record keeping began in Macon County

Record Weather Events for May (1872-2017)

Highest Temperature 92°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on May 20, 1996
Lowest Temperature 23°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on May 2, 1963
Greatest Rainfall 4.2 inches in Highlands on May 23, 1923
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 2.5 inches in Highlands on May 7, 1992



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.


----------------------------------
FRANKLIN AREA

TODAY

Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.

TONIGHT

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Light and variable wind.

SATURDAY

A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

SATURDAY NIGHT

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. Calm wind.

SUNDAY

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 76.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy, with a low around 51.

-----------------------------------------
OTTO AREA

TODAY

Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 83. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.

TONIGHT

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Calm wind.

SATURDAY

A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

SATURDAY NIGHT

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Light and variable wind.

SUNDAY

A 20 percent chance of showers before 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 76.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy, with a low around 51.

---------------------------------------------
HIGHLANDS AREA

TODAY

Sunny, with a high near 73. West wind around 9 mph.

TONIGHT

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. West northwest wind 5 to 7 mph.

SATURDAY

A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. West northwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming south southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

SATURDAY NIGHT

A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. West wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

SUNDAY

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 66.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy, with a low around 51.

--------------------------------------------
NANTAHALA AREA

TODAY

Sunny, with a high near 76. West wind 7 to 9 mph.

TONIGHT

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. West southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.

SATURDAY

A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. Calm wind becoming southwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 9pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 9pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. West southwest wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

SUNDAY

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 69.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy, with a low around 51.

----------------------------------------


GOES-16 GeoColor - True Color daytime, multispectral IR
11:27 pm last night to 2:22 am this morning


HAZARDS

Hazardous weather is not expected today.

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



GOES 16 - Band 15 - 12.3 µm - Dirty Longwave Window - IR (Precipitation)
2:27 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.

TRIMONT CHRISTIAN ACADEMY COMMUNITY YARDSALE

Want to sell all those extra items collecting dust around your house?

Join the indoor community yard sale at Trimont Christian Academy. Trimont will be doing community-wide advertising for this event.




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


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

Free classes and open studio times are being offered at 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

Sun

Begin civil twilight 6:12 a.m.
Sunrise 6:39 a.m.
Sun transit 1:30 p.m.
Sunset 8:22 p.m.
End civil twilight 8:49 p.m.


Moon

Moonrise 11:50 p.m. last night
Moon transit 4:59 a.m.
Moonset 10:08 a.m.


Phase of the Moon on May 4, 2018: Waning Gibbous with 80% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
Closest Primary Moon Phase: Last Quarter on May 7, 2018 at 10:09 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

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

3:30 am on May 4, 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.