Weather Briefing for Tuesday, October 20, 2020

OUTLOOK

High pressure will continue over our region for most of the week with a general southerly wind flow providing above normal temperatures through mid week. Precipitation chances will increase toward the end of the week as a cold front approaches from the northwest.








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 next project.


--- END SPONSOR SEGMENT---



General forecast through Thursday night


Today

Areas of fog in the morning. Otherwise, cloudy through midmorning, then gradual clearing, with highs ranging from near 70 in the higher elevations to the upper 70s in the lower elevations. Calm winds.

Tuesday Night
Patchy fog in the morning. Otherwise, increasing clouds, with lows ranging from the upper 40s in the higher elevations to the mid-50s in the lower elevations. Calm winds.

Wednesday
Patchy fog in the morning. Otherwise, cloudy through midmorning, then gradual clearing, with highs ranging from near 70 in the higher elevations to the upper 70s in the lower elevations. Light winds out of the southeast.

Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows ranging from near 50 in the higher elevations to the mid-to-upper 50s in the lower elevations. Calm wind.

Thursday
Mostly sunny, with highs ranging from near 70 in the higher elevations to the mid-to-upper 70s in the lower elevations.

Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy, with lows ranging from near 50 in the higher elevations to the mid-to-upper 50s in the lower elevations.



News Brief


More COVID-19 cases identified at area schools in Macon and Jackson Counties

On Monday, October 19th, the Macon County School System was notified that a positive case of COVID-19 has been confirmed at Highlands School, Franklin High School, and South Macon Elementary School. The individuals are currently under quarantine. Contact tracing is underway through the Macon County Health Department. Any student or staff member identified through the contact tracing will be notified. Macon County Schools will continue to work closely with the Macon County Health Department as they monitor this situation.

On Monday, October 19th, the Jackson County Department of Public Health identified a cluster of eight positive COVID-19 cases at Smokey Mountain Elementary School including four students and four staff members. [LINK] 

The NC State Board of Election reminds us that voter intimidation is against the law [LINK] 



Here are the latest COVID-19 Numbers and Demographics Report from Macon Public Health, along with a chart to show you the long-term trends since May 30, 2020, when the health department started releasing numbers to the public.

Cases

714 Detected
(+5 from Friday and +19 from last Monday and +110 in four weeks)

23 Active
(-3 from Friday and -7 from last Monday and -1 in four weeks)

684 Recovered
(+8 from Friday and +29 from last Monday and +111 in four weeks)

7 Deaths
(unchanged from Friday and unchanged from last Monday and unchanged in four weeks)


Testing


6131 by MCPH
(+37 from Friday and +163 from last Monday and +569 in four weeks)

2627 by others
(+179 from Friday and +46 from last Monday and +590 in four weeks)

8758in total
(+216 from Friday and +172 from last Monday and +1196 in four weeks)

205 tests pending results
(+37 from Friday and +134 from last Monday and +21 in four weeks)

HAZARDS

Hazardous weather is not anticipated today.

Air Quality

Air quality is in the middle-to-upper range of green today for all elevations.

Pollen

Pollen levels are expected to be low-medium (3.0 out of 12) with ragweed, chenopods, and grasses being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to drop into the low range (2.5 out of 12).


Weather Extremes for Macon County for October 20th

Highest Temperature 85°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 2016
Lowest Temperature 21°F in Franklin in 1981
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 3.87 inches in Highlands in 1950 Greatest One-Day Snowfall 1.0 inches in Highlands in 1913

TROPICAL WEATHER
(The North Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1st to Nov 30th)

Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Tue Oct 20 2020

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

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Tropical Storm Epsilon, located over the central Atlantic several hundred miles southeast of Bermuda.

1. A trough of low pressure extends southeastward from the southeastern Gulf of Mexico across the northwestern Caribbean Sea to a broad low-pressure system located over the southwestern Caribbean Sea. This system is currently accompanied by disorganized shower and thunderstorm activity. The disturbance is expected to consolidate over the northwestern Caribbean Sea during the next day or so before moving slowly westward toward the Yucatan peninsula by Wednesday. Regardless of development, the system could bring locally heavy rainfall to portions of central and western Cuba, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and the Yucatan peninsula through midweek.

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






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. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.



Become a Patron!


Or, if you prefer Pay Pal, try PayPal.me/MaconMedia



Published at 3:50am Tuesday, October 20, 2020