Daily Weather Briefing for Wednesday, May 16, 2018

LOCAL OUTLOOK

Rain chances will increase today and remain elevated the rest of the week as a slow-moving low-pressure system impacts the area. Temperatures will be near normal.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The Macon County Board of Commissioners and the Franklin Town Council had budget work sessions yesterday. Links to where you can see the gavel-to-gavel video of the meetings are posted below.

Macon County Board of Commissioners [LINK]

Franklin Town Council [LINK]



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 16th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 91°F in Franklin in 1962
Lowest Temperature 29°F in Highlands in 1904
Greatest Rainfall 3.11 inches in Highlands in 1955

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

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 2pm, then showers and thunderstorms likely between 2pm and 3pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 3pm. Patchy fog before 9am. High near 74. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

TONIGHT

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 3am, then showers likely between 3am and 4am, then rain likely after 4am. Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 60. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

THURSDAY

Rain likely before 10am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 10am and noon, then showers and thunderstorms after noon. Patchy fog before 9am. High near 78. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 3am. Cloudy, with a low around 60. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

FRIDAY

Showers and thunderstorms. High near 78. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Showers and thunderstorms likely before 10pm, then a chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 60. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

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

TODAY

Showers before 7am, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 7am and 2pm, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 2pm. Patchy fog before 8am. High near 75. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

TONIGHT

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 3am, then showers likely between 3am and 5am, then rain likely after 5am. Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 60. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

THURSDAY

Rain likely before 10am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 10am and noon, then showers and thunderstorms after noon. Areas of fog before 9am. High near 78. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 3am. Cloudy, with a low around 60. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

FRIDAY

Showers and thunderstorms. High near 78. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

FRIDAY NIGHT

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

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

TODAY

Showers before 8am, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 8am and 3pm, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 3pm. Widespread fog, mainly before 9am. High near 67. South southeast wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

TONIGHT

Showers and thunderstorms before 3am, then showers likely between 3am and 5am, then rain likely after 5am. Patchy fog after 11pm. Low around 58. Southeast wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

THURSDAY

Rain likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 11am, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 11am and noon, then showers and thunderstorms after noon. Areas of fog before 9am. High near 69. East wind around 6 mph becoming south in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 4am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4am. Low around 58. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

FRIDAY

Showers and thunderstorms likely before 10am, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 10am and 11am, then showers and thunderstorms after 11am. High near 70. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 58. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

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

TODAY

Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 9am. Patchy fog before 9am. High near 70. Light and variable wind becoming northeast around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

TONIGHT

Showers likely before midnight, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between midnight and 3am, then rain likely after 3am. Patchy fog after 10pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Light southeast wind. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

THURSDAY

Rain likely before 10am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 10am and noon, then showers and thunderstorms after noon. Areas of fog before 9am. High near 73. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Showers and thunderstorms likely before 1am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 1am and 2am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

FRIDAY

Showers and thunderstorms. High near 74. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a low around 58. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

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


GOES-16 GeoColor - True Color daytime, multispectral IR
11:47 pm last night to 2:42 am this morning


HAZARDS

Scattered to numerous thunderstorms will continue through Sunday. The greatest chances for thunderstorms will occur during the afternoon and evening hours. A few of these thunderstorms could be strong. Over time, flooding concerns will increase as continued rainfall adds up. Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches will be possible from today into Sunday with locally higher amounts possible.

..THURSDAY...Heavy rain possible. Numerous to widespread showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop on Thursday. At least a localized flash flood threat is expected, especially in areas that receive heavy rainfall on Tuesday or Wednesday.

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)
2:42 am this morning

TROPICAL OUTLOOK

Hurricane Season Officially begins on June 1, 2018. However, the tropics are already becoming active and the moisture from a tropical low-pressure has been responsible for the recent rain and the heavy rain that is in the forecast. Here is the latest outlook:



Special Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
800 AM EDT Tue May 15 2018

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

1. A broad non-tropical area of low pressure located over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico is producing widespread cloudiness, showers, and thunderstorms across much of Florida, southeastern Georgia and a good portion of the Bahamas. This system has not become any better organized since yesterday and conditions are becoming even less favorable for subtropical or tropical cyclone formation. This system, however, will continue to produce locally heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding across portions of Florida and the southeastern United States during the next few days while the low moves generally northward. 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 9 AM EDT on Wednesday.

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

SECOND AMENDMENT RALLY IN HAYWOOD COUNTY

A rally in support of the secondment will be taking place on Saturday, May 19th from 11 am to 4 pm at the Haywood County Courthouse located at 215 North Main Street in Waynesville, NC. Learn more about the rally on the Facebook Event Page at https://www.facebook.com/events/203209256946665/

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 6:01 a.m.
Sunrise 6:29 a.m.
Sun transit 1:30 p.m.
Sunset 8:31 p.m.
End civil twilight 9:00 p.m.


Moon

Moonrise 7:39 a.m.
Moon transit 2:46 p.m.
Moonset 9:59 p.m.


Phase of the Moon on May 16, 2018: Waxing Crescent with 2% 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 3:10 am on May 16, 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.