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Almanac
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Local and StateNews
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
Science and Technology
On This Day
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OUTLOOK
A frontal system will bring increasing rain chances beginning this afternoon, with rain likely at times tonight and Thursday. Warm weather will persist until a strong cold front reaches the area on Sunday.
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Local Weather
National Weather Map for Today
General forecast through Friday Night
Franklin Area Forecast
Today
Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 3pm. Patchy fog between 8am and 10am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs in the upper 60s. Winds out of the southwest 3 to 6 mph. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight
A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 8pm. Patchy fog after 9pm. Lows in the mid 50s. Light winds out of the south. Chance of rain is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Highs near 70. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid 40s. Calm winds.
Friday
Showers likely, mainly after 4pm. Partly sunny, with highs in the upper 60s. Chance of rain is 60%.
Friday Night
Showers. Lows in the mid 50s. Chance of rain is 90%.
Highlands Area Forecast
Today
Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs near 60. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of rain is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Patchy fog after 9pm. Lows in the mid 50s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of rain is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Highs in the lower 60s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of rain is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with lows in the upper 40s. Winds out of the west 5 to 10 mph.
Friday
Showers likely, mainly after 4pm. Partly sunny, with highs near 60. Chance of rain is 60%.
Friday Night
Showers. Lows in the mid 50s. Chance of rain is 90%.
Otto Area Forecast
Today
Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. Winds out of the south around 5 mph. Chance of rain is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Patchy fog after 9pm. Lows in the mid 50s. Winds out of the south 3 to 6 mph. Chance of rain is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 60s. Light and variable winds increasing to come out of the southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with lows in the upper 40s. Winds out of the southwest around 5 mph in the early evening becoming calm after midnight.
Friday
Showers likely, mainly after 3pm. Partly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. Chance of rain is 60%.
Friday Night
Showers. Lows in the mid 50s. Chance of rain is 90%.
Nantahala Area Forecast
Today
Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 4pm. Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid 60s. Winds out of teh southwest around 5 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of rain is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight
Showers likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 8pm. Patchy fog after 8pm. Lows in the upper 50s. Calm winds in the early evening increasing to come out of the southwest around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of rain is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Thursday
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Highs in the low-to-mid 60s. Winds out of the southwest 3 to 5 mph. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with lows around 50. Calm winds.
Friday
Showers likely, mainly after 3pm. Partly sunny, with highs in the lower 60s. Chance of rain is 60%.
Friday Night
Showers. Lows in the mid-to-upper 50s. Chance of rain is 90%.
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Hazards and Tropical Weather
A few thunderstorms may move in from the west this evening or overnight, bringing a threat of isolated damaging wind gusts. Additional showers and storms are expected to develop Thursday afternoon, with a few strong storms possible across mainly the Georgia Piedmont and southern Upstate.
Another dynamic storm system will cross the area over the weekend, bringing a round of showers and embedded thunderstorms. A few severe storms may be possible Saturday night into Sunday, but there is a lot of uncertainty in the exact strength and timing of this system.
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Almanac
Air quality is in the extreme upper range of green for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the extreme upper range of green.
Fire and Smoke Map
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be in the low-medium range (0.2 out of 12) today with Juniper being the main culprit. Tomorrow is expected to be in the low range (0.3 out of 12).
Record Weather Events for December 29th
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 73°F in Franklin in 1983
lowest Temperature -10°F in Highlands in 1894
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 5.26 inches in Highlands in 1954
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 8.5 inches in Highlands in 1935
Record weather events for December in Macon County
Highest Temperature 78°F in Franklin on Dec 31, 1951
Lowest Temperature -12°F in Highlands on Dec 30, 1917
Greatest Rainfall 6.00 inches in Highlands on Dec 14, 1901
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 12.0 inches in Franklin on Dec 21, 1876
All-time record weather events for Macon County
Highest Temperature 101°F in Franklin on Jul 29, 1952
Lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands on Jan 21, 1985
Greatest Rainfall 21.15 inches in Highlands on Jul 29, 1879
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 25.5 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on Mar 13, 1993
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Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)
The 8th Annual NYE (New Years' Eve) Ruby Drop
It's time for the 8th Annual New Years Eve Ruby Drop on Main St. Franklin, NC. This event is hosted by Motor Company Grill and Crabtree General Store. Many Businesses will be open along Main Street offering shopping, dining, live music, and drinks! Motor Co. will be serving dinner inside, as well as heaters and corn hole (weather permitting) on the patio. [SOURCE]
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Local and State News
COVID-19 Numbers for Macon County: [November 15, 2021]
• Receive an ebook reader or tablet for Christmas? Here are some resources for free or cheap content [Macon Media]
• Asheville One of the “Worst Places to Live” [Tribune Papers]
• 1 out of every 5 people who got a COVID test result in NC on Sunday tested positive [WRAL-TV]
• Dogwood trust helps new oral health effort in western North Carolina [The McDowell News]
• North Carolina officer accidentally shoots son in the head, authorities say [KDFW-TV]
• Lost Cove Wildfire Update – Tuesday December 28 [National Forests in North Carolina]
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National and World News Roundup
• 5 dead in Denver 'killing spree' by suspect with extremist views, police sources say [ABC News] [Suspect's Twitter Account]
Booknotes + Podcast: Isabel Wilkerson, "The Warmth of Other Suns"
• Judge rejects Proud Boys' First Amendment claims in January 6 conspiracy case [CNN]
• France closes mosque north of Paris after 'unacceptable' preaching [France 24]
• 14-year-old arrested for Garland shooting that left 3 teens dead, 1 injured [KDFW-TV]
• Russian Supreme Court shuts down top human rights group Memorial [Courthouse News Service]
• Police officer took selfies at murder scene and sent racist WhatsApp images [The Guardian]
• Nevada political giant, former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid dies at 82 [SLas Vegas Sun]
NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast - December 28th, 2021
PBS NewsHour Full Episode December 28th, 2021
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COVID-19 News and Updates
Since it looks like we may be in for a new wave of infections, here is a section on COVID-19. It will include local, regional, state, national, and global items.
COVID-19 Numbers for Macon County: [November 18, 2021]
• WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard [World Health Organization]
Globally, as of 5:54pm CET, 27 December 2021, there have been 279,114,972 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,397,580 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 23 December 2021, a total of 8,649,057,088 vaccine doses have been administered.
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 5:54pm CET, 27 December 2021, there have been 51,696,204 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 808,701 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 17 December 2021, a total of 478,091,073 vaccine doses have been administered.
• Fauci on Trump getting booed: 'Poisoning the well' on vaccines has 'lingering effect' [This Hill]
• The Omicron variant is highly resistant against antibody-mediated neutralization – implications for control of the COVID-19 pandemic [Cell, via Science Direct]
• Omicron is ‘not the same disease’ as earlier Covid waves, says UK scientist [The Guardian]
• CDC: 75 Cruise Ships Under Monitoring or More Over COVID Outbreaks [NBC 4 New York]
• They Were the Pandemic’s Perfect Victims [ProPublica]
• SARS-CoV-2 infection and persistence throughout the human body and brain [Research Gate]
• Intranasal inhibitor blocks omicron and other variants of SARS-CoV-2 [Research Gate]
• Monitoring COVID-19 Variants
[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
[Outbreak.info]
• CDC Releases Emergency Guidance for Healthcare Facilities to Prepare for Potential Omicron Surge [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
• COVID-19 case rates by county in 2021 [AXIOS]
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Science and Technology News Roundup
• NASA clears Axiom crew for 1st private mission to International Space Station [Space.com]
Elon Musk: SpaceX, Mars, Tesla Autopilot, Self-Driving, Robotics, and AI | Lex Fridman Podcast #252
• Audio version links [LesFrifman.com]
• Can Matt Mullenweg save the internet? [protocol]
• Importance of the pig as a human biomedical model [Science Tranlational Medicine]
• Riot Games to pay $100m in discrimination case [BBC News]
• LastPass users receive warnings of compromised passwords [protocol]
• Forward Pallet Structure Lowered, Beginning Multiple-Day Sunshield Deployment [NASA: James Webb Space Telescope]
Tech Podcasts • Million-Dollar Predictions [Linux Unplugged #438]
• Xcode X [Accidental Tech Podcast #462]
• Best and Worst of 2021 [Rocket #365]
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On This Day
December 29th is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; two days remain until the end of the year.
Historical Events
(Please note that the Wikipedia articles often contain a bibliography and links to where you can learn more about a historical event)
875 – Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor Charles II.
1170 – Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church.
• [Wikipedia Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Becket]
• [The HORRIFIC Murder Of Thomas Becket - Archbishop Of Canterbury]
• [Why Henry II Murdered Archbishop Thomas Becket | Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty | Timeline]
1503 – The Battle of Garigliano (1503) was fought between a Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and a French army commanded by Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Garigliano (1503)]
• [(VIDEO) Battles of Cerignola and Garigliano 1503 - Italian Wars DOCUMENTARY]
• [HistoryOfWar.org]
1508 – Portuguese forces under the command of Francisco de Almeida attack Khambhat at the Battle of Dabul.
1607 – Indian princess Pocahantas saves captain John Smith from murder.
• [Who Was The Real Pocahontas? | Pocahontas And John Smith | Timeline]
• [NCpedia]
• [Eyewitness to History]
1778 – American Revolutionary War: Three thousand British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell capture Savannah, Georgia.
1812 – USS Constitution, under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour battle.
• [Naval History and Heritage Command]
• [Wikipedia article]
• [History Central]
1835 – The Treaty of New Echota is signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States.
• [Wikipedia]
• [(VIDEO) Original Treaty of New Echota unveiled]
• [Images of Treaty]
• [PDF Copy at National Museum of the American Indian]
1845 – The United States annexes the Republic of Texas.
• [Wikipedia: Texas annexation]
• [VIDEO: The Annexation of Texas]
• [The Annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1845–1848]
1860 – The launch of HMS Warrior, with her combination of screw propeller, iron hull and iron armour, renders all previous warships obsolete.
1874 – The military coup of Gen. Martinez Campos in Sagunto ends the failed First Spanish Republic and the monarchy is restored as Prince Alfonso is proclaimed King of Spain.
1876 – The Ashtabula River railroad disaster occurs, leaving 64 injured and 92 dead at Ashtabula, Ohio.
1890 – Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota are killed by the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment.
• [Wikipedia]
• [HistoryPod Video]
• [VIDEO: The Ghost Dance Movement | Native American Culture | Wounded Knee Massacre]
1911 – Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, enthroning 8th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as Khagan of Mongolia.
1911 – Sun Yat-sen becomes the provisional President of the Republic of China; he formally takes office on January 1, 1912.
1913 – Cecil B. DeMille starts filming Hollywood's first feature film, The Squaw Man.
• [Wikipedia]
• [Full Mpvie on Youtube]
• [Wikipedia Bio: Cecil B. DeMille]
1916 – A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the first novel by James Joyce, is first published as a book by American publishing house B. W. Huebschis after its serialization in The Egoist (1914–15).
1930 – Sir Muhammad Iqbal's presidential address in Allahabad introduces the two-nation theory and outlines a vision for the creation of Pakistan.
1934 – Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.
1937 – The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution.
1940 – World War II: In the Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombs London, England, killing almost 200 civilians.
1949 – KC2XAK of Bridgeport, Connecticut becomes the first Ultra high frequency (UHF) television station to operate a daily schedule.
1972 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar) crashes in the Florida Everglades on approach to Miami International Airport, Florida, killing 101 of the 176 people on board.
1975 – A bomb explodes at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing 11 people and injuring 74.
1989 – Czech writer, philosopher and dissident Václav Havel is elected the first post-communist President of Czechoslovakia.
• [Wikipedia Bio: Václav Havel]
• [Obituary in the New York Times]
• [Václav Havel's Legacy Today (Part 1)]
• [Václav Havel's Legacy Today (Part 2)]
1989 – The Nikkei 225 for the Tokyo Stock Exchange hits its all-time intra-day high of 38,957.44 and closing high at 38,915.87, serving as the apex of the Japanese asset price bubble.
1992 – Fernando Collor de Mello, president of Brazil, tries to resign amidst corruption charges, but is then impeached.
1994 – Turkish Airlines Flight 278 (a Boeing 737-400) crashes on approach to Van Ferit Melen Airport in Van, Turkey, killing 57 of the 76 people on board.
1996 – Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity sign a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war.
1997 – Hong Kong begins to kill all the city's 1.25 million chickens to stop the spread of a potentially deadly influenza strain.
1998 – Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over one million lives.
2003 – The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct.
2006 – The UK settles its Anglo-American loan, post-WWII loan debt.
2012 – A Tupolev Tu-204 airliner crashes in a ditch between the airport fence and the M3 highway after overshooting a runway at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, killing five people and leaving three others critically injured.
2013 – A suicide bomb attack at the Volgograd-1 railway station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd kills at least 18 people and wounds 40 others.
2013 – Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher suffers a massive head injury while skiing in the French Alps.
2020 – A large explosion at the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden kills at least 22 people and wounds 50.
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Published at 5:00am on Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Author: Bobby Coggins
Resources used to compile the information in this article include, but are not limited to the following websites or books: MaconMedia.com, youtube.com, weather.gov, airnow.gov, wikipedia.com, onthisday.com, ncdcr.gov, ncsu.edu, utah.edu, https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/, wolfram.com, biorxiv.org, aps.org, nejm.org, plos.org, cell.com, researchsquare.com, cureus.com, spc.noaa.gov, nhc.noaa.gov, ncdenr.org, medrxiv.org, archive.org, ncpedia.org, nasa.gov, https://ww2days.com, nih.gov, carolinapublicpress.org, microbe.tv, smokymountainnews.com, psypost.org, blogspot.com, pollen.com, franklinnc.com, maconnc.org, spaceweather.com, solarham.com, loc.gov, ncleg.net, senate.gov, house.gov, whitehouse.gov, drudgereport.com, politico.com, realclearpolitics.com, ushmm.org, This Day in North Carolina History, World War II Day By Day, The Holocaust Encyclopedia, The Timetables of History, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The World History and Book of Facts (multiple years), On This Day In History: Over 4,000 facts, The NASA Archives. 60 Years in Space, This Day in North Carolina History, The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration: From the Ancient World to the Extraterrestrial Future, Spaceflight, 2nd Edition: The Complete Story from Sputnik to Curiousity, The Story of Civilization (11 volumes), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, American History, Volume 1: 1492-1877, American History, Volume 2: 1877 - Present, A Complete Chronolgy of the Second World War. Weather and Almanac 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, University of Utah Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and the Weather Prediction Center. Back to Top
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