Daily Weather Briefing for Monday, May 14, 2018

LOCAL OUTLOOK

A ridge of high pressure will remain over the area today, keeping temperatures within a few degrees of record levels. Precipitation chances increase Tuesday and remain elevated the rest of the week as a slow-moving low-pressure system impacts the area, also lowering temperatures closer to normal.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The Franklin Tourism Development Authority will be meeting this afternoon at 5:30 pm in the lower level of town hall for their monthly meeting. A copy of the public agenda and the agenda packet are posted on the blog. [LINK]

DAY SPONSOR

Carrion Tree Service is underwriting the daily weather briefing and public safety updates for today. they are a fully licensed and insured tree service, specializing in dangerous tree removal, view clearing, pruning, and crane services with a 24 Hour emergency response.

Their phone number is 371-4718. They are located at 120 Depot Street.

They can handle all your tree removal needs in good or bad weather.

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 14th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 90°F in Franklin in 1956
Lowest Temperature 28°F in Highlands in 1910
Greatest Rainfall 2.99 inches in Highlands in 1976

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.



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FRANKLIN AREA

TODAY

Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Areas of fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

TONIGHT

Isolated showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Areas of fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

TUESDAY

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Areas of fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming south southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

TUESDAY NIGHT

A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 3am. Cloudy, with a low around 60. Light southeast wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

WEDNESDAY

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before noon, then showers and thunderstorms likely between noon and 4pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

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OTTO AREA

TODAY

Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. Areas of fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming south southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

TONIGHT

Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Areas of fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

TUESDAY

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 3pm. Areas of fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming south southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

TUESDAY NIGHT

Showers and thunderstorms likely before 8pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 8pm. Cloudy, with a low around 60. Light east southeast wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

WEDNESDAY

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 11am, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 77. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 60. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

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

TODAY

Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming south southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

TONIGHT

Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. South wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

TUESDAY

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

TUESDAY NIGHT

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 57. East southeast wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

WEDNESDAY

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 10am, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 68. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Showers and thunderstorms likely before 10pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 10pm and 1am, then showers likely after 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 58. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

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

TODAY

Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Areas of fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 84. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

TONIGHT

Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Areas of fog after 5am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

TUESDAY

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. South southeast wind 3 to 5 mph. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

TUESDAY NIGHT

A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm, then a chance of showers between 11pm and 4am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4am. Cloudy, with a low around 62. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

WEDNESDAY

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 11am, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62.

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GOES-16 GeoColor - True Color daytime, multispectral IR
12:02 am to 2:57 am

HAZARDS

Hazardous weather is not expected today. Afternoon showers and thunderstorms are expected this afternoon.

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)
2:02 am this morning

TROPICAL OUTLOOK

Hurricane Season Officially begins on June 1, 2018. However, the tropics are already becoming active. Here is today's outlook:



Special Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
340 PM EDT Sun May 13 2018

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

1. A large area of cloudiness, showers, and thunderstorms extending from western Cuba across the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Straits, and much of the Florida Peninsula is associated with a broad surface low and trough interacting with an upper-level low. This system could acquire some subtropical or tropical characteristics while it moves slowly northward across the eastern Gulf of Mexico during the next few days. Regardless of subtropical or tropical cyclone formation, this system will enhance rainfall across portions of Florida and the northeastern Gulf Coast during the next few days. For more information on this system, please see products issued by your local weather office. The next Special Tropical Weather Outlook on this system will be issued by 11 AM EDT Monday.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...30 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...medium...40 percent.

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 6:02 a.m.
Sunrise 6:30 a.m.
Sun transit 1:30 p.m.
Sunset 8:30 p.m.
End civil twilight 8:58 p.m.


Moon

Moonrise 6:12 a.m.
Moon transit 12:53 p.m.
Moonset 7:43 p.m.


Phase of the Moon on May 14, 2018: Waning Crescent with 1% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
Closest Primary Moon Phase: New Moon on May 15, 2018 at 7:48 a.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

Published at 3:15 am on May 14, 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, National Hurricane Center, 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.