SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR DECEMBER 12th
Macon County
Highlands School is on a one-hour delay with no buses on icy roads.
Jackson County
Blue Ridge District will be closed with an optional teacher workday.
Smoky Mountain District will be on a REGULAR SCHEDULE with NO BUSES ON ICY ROADS.
Comet Visible to Naked Eye From Dark Locations, Binoculars Better
Comet 46P/Wirtanen has brightened to the point where it is now visible in the night sky to anyone with a reasonably dark sky away from the light pollution of city lights. Our problem will be a lack of clear skies until early Monday morning, then we will have a few days of clear skies at night.
For those who have no intention of trying to see it in the sky or cannot see it due to clouds, the Virtual Telescope Project has an event scheduled on their Youtube Channel. [LINK]
Earth Sky has a reasonable article for novices to help locate the comet. [LINK]
For the more technically proficient (and those with computerized telescopes) the orbital elements and light curves are on Seiichi Yoshida's page for 46P/Wirtanen [LINK]
More sources of information:
Wikipedia [LINK]
IAU Minor Planet Center via the Internet Archive [LINK]
Outlook
Surface high pressure will allow for dry conditions to continue today, with rain chances increasing tonight as a developing low pressure is expected to bring widespread rainfall to the region through Saturday. Minor flooding is possible. Dry conditions return on Sunday and will continue into early next week.
THREE DAY GFS FORECAST
This animated image shows a forecast of precipitation, air pressure and thickness level (cold-air damming) for three days in six-hour increments.
Green, Yellow, and Red indicate rain. Orange and Purple Indicate Freezing Rain or other freezing precipitation. Blue indicates snow.
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/
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Weather Hazards
Black Ice could form on area roadways. Be careful on your morning commute.
A strong low-pressure system will cross the region Friday through early Sunday. Heavy rain will be possible with this system, impacting locations with poor drainage and where soil moisture levels are already high due to the recent rainfall and snowmelt. This setup may lead to flooding along both main stem rivers and smaller rivers and streams Friday afternoon through the weekend. Driving may be hazardous on area roadways where rainwater ponds on the roads or where runoff crosses the roads.
WEATHER FORECAST MAPS
Forecast maps for 7 am, 1 pm, and 7 pm.
[click on any image in this article to enlarge]
FRANKLIN AREA FORECAST
Today
Showers. Patchy fog after 8am. High in the lower 50s. Light and variable winds shifting to come out of the southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight
Showers. Patchy fog. Low around 45. Winds out of the southeast around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday
Showers likely, mainly before 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 55. Calm wind early riding to come out of the southwest around 5 mph by mid-morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Saturday Night
A chance of showers before 4am, then a slight chance of rain between 4am and 5am, then a slight chance of showers after 5am. Mostly cloudy, with a low in the upper 30s. Light winds out of the southwest wind. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Sunday
A slight chance of showers before 8am, then a slight chance of rain before 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near the low-to-mid 50s. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.
OTTO AREA FORECAST
Today
Showers. Patchy fog. High near 50. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three-quarters of an inch possible.
Tonight
Showers. Patchy fog. Low around 45. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday
Showers likely, mainly before noon. Areas of fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near the lower 50s. Winds out of the southeast around 5 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Saturday Night
A chance of rain before midnight, then a chance of showers between midnight and 2am, then a chance of rain after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. Calm wind becoming west northwest around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Sunday
A 20 percent chance of rain before 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near the low-to-mid 50s.
Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.
HIGHLANDS PLATEAU FORECAST
Today
Showers. Patchy fog. High near the upper 40s. Winds out of the east 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible.
Tonight
Showers. Patchy fog. Low around 45. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three-quarters of an inch possible.
Saturday
Showers likely, mainly before 2pm. Areas of fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near the upper 40s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph shifting to come out of the southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Saturday Night
A chance of showers before 10pm, then a chance of rain, mainly between 10pm and 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35. Winds out of the west 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Sunday
A 20 percent chance of rain before 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near the upper 40s.
Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.
NANTAHALA AREA FORECAST
Today
Showers. Patchy fog. High near the low-to-mid 50s. Winds out of the southeast 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight
Showers. Patchy fog. Low around 45. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday
Showers likely, mainly before 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Saturday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around the upper 30s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday
A chance of showers before 11am, then a slight chance of rain between 11am and 3pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 45. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35.
Macon County Almanac for December 14, 2018
Highest Temperature 73°F in Highlands in 1927
Lowest Temperature -10°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1962
Greatest Rainfall 6.00 inches in Highlands in 1931
Greatest Snowfall 4.0 inches in Franklin in 1958
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Published at 3:00 am on December 14, 2018
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