News and Weather Update for Sunday, June 7, 2020

OUTLOOK

Shower and thunderstorm chances will prevail for the rest of the week. The best chance for any activity to occur will be today and Saturday as an approaching cold front makes its way into the region from the northwest. The front may stall near the southern part of the area Sunday into early next week, keeping isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms in the forecast.


GoFundMe Established to Benefit Children of David and Dawn Head

On Saturday, 5/23/2020, Macon County Sheriff's Deputy David Head and his wife, Dawn, a Physical Therapist with Highlands/Cashiers Hospital, were tragically killed in an automobile accident. They leave behind four children, Jeslyn Head (17), J.D. Head (13), Erin Sanborn (17), and Sidney Sanborn (19). This fund has been set up by the employees of the Macon County Sheriff's Office in an effort to help all 4 children of David and Dawn Head. [LINK]


Most recent Local Government Meetings

The Macon County Board of Commissioners met on June 2nd. [LINK]

The Franklin Town Council met on June 1st. Members of the public and local media outlets were allowed in the town hall. [LINK]



General Forecast Through Saturday Night

Today

Mostly sunny. Patchy fog this morning. Isolated showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Highs in the 80s to near 90 in the valleys. Winds out of the north around 5 mph, shifting to come out of the west in the afternoon. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows in the 60s. Winds out of the southwest around 5 mph in the evening, becoming light and variable by midnight.

Monday

Mostly cloudy. Patchy fog in the morning. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the 70s to the lower 80s. Winds out of the south around 5 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Monday Night

A chance of thunderstorms in the evening. Cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows in the 60s. Winds out of the southeast around 5 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. A chance of showers in the morning then showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the 70s to the lower 80s. Winds out of the south around 5 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy. Showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms in the evening, then a chance of showers after midnight. Lows in the 60s. Chance of rain 60 percent.

Hazards

Isolated thunderstorms with frequent cloud-to-ground lightning will be possible this afternoon to evening.



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Tropical Weather
(The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th)


Tropical Tidbit from Levi Cowan

Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Sun Jun 7 2020

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

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Tropical Storm Cristobal, centered over the central Gulf of Mexico.

1. An area of low pressure is expected to form along a cold front a few hundred miles east or northeast of Bermuda by the middle of next week. Some slight development of this system will be possible for a day or two after that while the system meanders over the western Atlantic.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...low...20 percent.




Tropical Storm Cristobal Discussion Number 23
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL032020
400 AM CDT Sun Jun 07 2020

Cristobal continues to resemble a subtropical cyclone more than a tropical cyclone. The convection near the center remains limited, although it has become a little better organized during the past several hours. In addition, aircraft and scatterometer data show that the radius of maximum winds remains at or above 90 n mi. These data also suggest that a 45 kt intensity may be a bit generous, but since the central pressure remains near 993 mb the intensity has not changed for this advisory.

The initial motion is 360/10 between a deep-layer ridge to Cristobal's east and a mid- to upper-level trough over the western Gulf of Mexico. This general motion should continue for 12-18 h, followed by a turn toward the north-northwest due to a mid-latitude ridge passing north of the cyclone. After 36 h, a turn toward the north and north-northeast is expected as Cristobal or its remnants encounter the mid-latitude westerlies. There are no important changes to either the track guidance or the forecast track since the last advisory.

The broad nature of the cyclone and significant dry air entrainment is likely to prevent intensification before landfall, and the new intensity forecast holds the intensity constant at 45 kt until that time. Weakening is expected after landfall, with Cristobal weakening below tropical-storm strength just after the 24 h point. The new intensity forecast shows slight re-intensification as the system becomes extratropical at 72-96 h in agreement with the global model guidance.

Cristobal remains a broad and asymmetric storm. Therefore, one should not focus on the exact forecast track, as the associated winds, storm surge, and rainfall will extend well away from the center.


Key Messages:

1. There is a danger of life-threatening storm surge outside of the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System from the Mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and a Storm Surge Warning is in effect for those areas. Life-threatening storm surge remains possible in other portions of southern and southeastern Louisiana where a Storm Surge Watch is in effect. Residents in these locations should follow the advice given by local emergency officials.

2. Tropical-storm-force winds should spread along the northern Gulf coast from central Louisiana to the western Florida Panhandle, including metropolitan New Orleans today, and a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for this area. These winds will arrive well in advance of and extend well east of Cristobal's center.

3. Heavy rainfall will continue across north Florida this morning, spreading from east to west across the eastern and central Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle into Louisiana today. The Central Gulf Coast region will be most prone to issues after the passage of the center of Cristobal from Sunday night into Monday. This heavy rain will move up the Lower and Mid Mississippi Valley Monday into Tuesday, then across the Upper Mississippi Valley and Northern Plains Tuesday and Tuesday night. Flash flooding and new and renewed significant river flooding is possible, especially where heavier rainfall occurs over portions of the Gulf Coast through the Mississippi Valley.


FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INIT 07/0900Z 27.3N 90.1W 45 KT 50 MPH
12H 07/1800Z 28.7N 90.3W 45 KT 50 MPH
24H 08/0600Z 30.8N 91.2W 35 KT 40 MPH...INLAND
36H 08/1800Z 33.3N 92.3W 30 KT 35 MPH...INLAND
48H 09/0600Z 36.6N 92.6W 25 KT 30 MPH...INLAND
60H 09/1800Z 40.9N 91.4W 25 KT 30 MPH...INLAND
72H 10/0600Z 46.0N 89.0W 30 KT 35 MPH...POST-TROP/EXTRATROP
96H 11/0600Z 52.0N 84.5W 30 KT 35 MPH...POST-TROP/EXTRATROP
120H 12/0600Z...MERGED WITH EXTRATROPICAL LOW

End Daily Weather Segment

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Begin COVID-19 Update




Here are some numbers from the CDC, the NCDHHS, and the Johns Hopkins Dashboard. Macon Media prefers the Johns Hopkins Dashboard because the counts include those non-residents that are left out of the CDC and NCDHHS numbers.

The CDC website [LINK] reports 33,255 people in North Carolina are infected, 966 have died, and infections are widespread, the NCDHHS website [LINK] reports 34,625 confirmed cases from 497,350 targeted tests, and 708 hospitalized and 992 deaths in the state. The Johns Hopkins Dashboard [LINK] reports 34,718 people infected and 1,028 deaths (these include non-residents located in NC).

COVID-19 Data for Macon County from Coronaction. [LINK]

Detected 119
Recovered 30
Deceased 1
Actives 88

Data from Macon County Public Health [LINK]

Detected 122
Recovered 17
Deceased 1
Actives 104

Testing Data

MCPH Tests 1,496
Other Tests 343
Total Tests 1,839




Resources for Reliable Information about the Corona Virus (COVID-19) [LINK]

Dr John Campbell

An important Update



Care for the vulnerable, Court House retirement Home, Cheddar


Coronavirus Pandemic Update 80: COVID-19 Retractions & Data (Hydroxychloroquine, ACE Inhibitors)



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Published at 6:45pam on Sunday, June 7, 2020