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Weather
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Almanac
Macon Calendar
Local and StateNews
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
Science and Technology
On This Day
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OUTLOOK
A cold front shifts across the region this morning, setting the stage for a surface low to develop near Georgia. As it pivots across the Southeast, wintry precipitation is likely to develop Friday and overnight. Cold and dry high pressure then returns for the latter half of the weekend and the first part of next week.
SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Franklin Area Schools
Franklin area schools will be on a regular schedule today, Thursday, January 20th.
Nantahala School
Due to the lasting effects of the Winter Storm, Nantahala School will be on a two-hour delay today, Thursday, January 20th.
Highlands School
Highlands School will be on a two-hour delay today, Thursday, January 20th. School will begin at 10:00 am. Please do not drop of students before 9:30 to insure access to the building and proper supervision.
In addition, buses will only pick up students at the following locations: Bus 6 will pick up students at Shortoff Baptist Church on Buck Creek Road at 9:00, and Clear Creek Baptist Church on Blue Valley Road at 9:25. Bus 109 will pick up students at the Scaly Mountain Fire Station on Hale Ridge Road at 9:25.
If you are not able to reach one of the pickup points or bring your child to school due to unsafe road conditions, please stay home and your child can attend and participate through remote learning.
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Local Weather
General Forecast Through Saturday Night
Franklin Area
Today
Rain likely, mainly before 1pm. Patchy fog before 2pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with highs in the lower 40s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Thursday Night
Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid 20s. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph in the early evening becoming calm before midnight.
Friday
A slight chance of snow between 10am and 1pm, then a chance of rain and snow. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, cloudy, with highs in the mid 30s. Calm winds. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Friday Night
A 20 percent chance of snow before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 19. Calm winds.
Saturday
Mostly sunny, with highs in the lower 40s.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 16.
Highlands Plateau
Today
Rain likely, mainly before 7am. Patchy fog. Otherwise, cloudy, with highs near 40. Winds out of the west 5 to 10 mph in the morning shifting to come out of the northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Thursday Night
A slight chance of rain or freezing rain before 7pm, then a slight chance of freezing rain. Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with lows in the mid 20s. Winds out of the north 5 to 10 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Friday
A 30 percent chance of snow, mainly after 2pm. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, cloudy, with highs in the upper 20s. Light and variable winds. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Friday Night
A 30 percent chance of snow, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 18. Calm winds in the early evening increasing to come out of the southeast around 5 mph after midnight.
Saturday
Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid 30s.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 17.
Otto and South Central Macon County
Today
Rain likely, mainly before 2pm. Patchy fog before 2pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with highs in the mid 40s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Thursday Night
Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid 20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Friday
A slight chance of snow between 9am and 1pm, then a chance of rain and snow. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, cloudy, with highs in the mid 30s. Calm winds. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Friday Night
A 20 percent chance of snow before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 20. Calm winds.
Saturday
Mostly sunny, with highs near 40.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 17.
Nantahala Area
Today
Rain, snow, and sleet likely before 2pm, then a slight chance of snow between 2pm and 3pm. Patchy fog before 1pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs near 40. Calm winds becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow and sleet accumulation expected.
Thursday Night
Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid 20s. Windws out of the northwest around 5 mph becoming calm before midnight.
Friday
A 20 percent chance of snow after noon. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs near freezing. Calm winds.
Friday Night
A 20 percent chance of snow before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 18. Calm winds.
Saturday
Mostly sunny, with highs near 40.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 18.
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Hazards and Tropical Weather
A cold front tracking across the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia today will bring mostly rain outside the mountains with a wintry mix possible across the mountains. Light ice accumulations will be possible across the mountains, mainly across the North Carolina and Tennessee border counties.
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Almanac
Air quality is in the lower range of yellow for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the lower range of yellow.
Fire and Smoke Map
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be in the low range (1.2 out of 12) today with Juniper being the main culprit. Tomorrow is expected to be in the low range (2.4 out of 12).
Record Weather Events for January 20th
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 71°F in Highlands in 1974
Lowest Temperature -8°F in Franklin in 1994
Greatest Rainfall 3.50 inches in Highlands in 1876
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 4.0 inches in Highlands in 1998
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)
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Local and State News
COVID-19 Numbers for Macon County: [November 15, 2021]
• Get free at-home COVID-19 tests [COVIDtests.gov]
• Buncombe County reports nearly 20 COVID outbreaks in nursing homes [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• NC Republicans vote to delay 2022 primary elections [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
Excerpt:
But for now House Bill 605 lays out this proposed schedule for the primaries:
• Candidate filing would run from March 24 to April 1.
•The primaries would be June 7.
If Cooper vetoes the bill, and if the veto is sustained, the primaries would go back to May 17.
• NC’s Thom Tillis threatens to resign from Senate if Republicans ever change the filibuster [Raleigh News and Observer]
• Resident debate: Student, professor field death threats amid debate on diversity training [Smoky Mountain News (Waynesville, NC)]
Franklin Town Council - January 2022 Regular Meeting
Asheville Citizen-Times COVID-19 Tracker [Asheville Citizen-Times]
Previously:
• Special Section: Supreme Court Hears Vaccine Mandate Cases [Nacon Media (Jan 7th, 2022)]
The documents:
• In National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, the court blocked the federal government’s vaccine-or-test requirement for workplaces of 100 or more employees. [PDF of Opinion]
• In Biden v. Missouri, the court allowed the government’s vaccine mandate for workers at federally funded health care facilities to take effect nationwide. [PDF of Opinion]
• Fractured court blocks vaccine-or-test requirement for large workplaces but green-lights vaccine mandate for health care workers [SCOTUSblog]
• Who Decides, Redux? [The Volokh Conspiracy]
• The Supreme Court sunk Biden’s vaccine/testing mandate for private employers. What you need to know. [Poynter]
• Supreme Court blocks Biden Covid vaccine mandate for businesses, allows health-care worker rule [CNBC]
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National and World News Roundup
President Biden Holds a Press Conference
• Manchin, Sinema join GOP to sink filibuster change for voting bill [The Hill]
First Twelve Hours of US Senate debate on Voting Rights Bill
Last Hour of US Senate debate on Voting Rights Bill and the Vote
• IRS Will Require Facial Recognition Scans to Access Your Taxes [Gizmodo]
• ‘No-trick-or-treat’ warning signs violate sex offenders’ rights, 11th Circuit rules [Courthouse News Service]
Who betrayed Anne Frank and her family?
• U.S. to let teens drive big rigs in test program to help ease supply chain shortage [KABC-TV (Los Angeles, CA)]
• Court rebuffs Trump’s bid to block release of documents related to Jan. 6 riot [SCOTUSblog]
• Supreme Court rejects Trump request to block release of records to January 6 committee [CNBC]
• 'Significant evidence' of alleged fraud in Trump business investigation, NY AG says [ABC News]
Global National: Jan. 18, 2022 | Canadian researchers find security flaws in China's Olympics app
NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast - January 19th, 2021
PBS NewsHour Full Episode January 19th, 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 5:31pm CET, 10 January 2022, there have been 305,914,601 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,486,304 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 9 January 2022, a total of 9,126,987,353 vaccine doses have been administered.
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 5:31pm CET, 10 January 2022, there have been 59,138,083 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 830,334 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 23 December 2021, a total of 485,274,895 vaccine doses have been administered.
Dr John Campbell: Vaccination advice in the age of omicron
• The pandemic’s true death toll: millions more than official counts [Nature]
• All plan B Covid restrictions, including mask wearing, to end in England [The Guardian]
• Orange County health director Dr. Raul Pino placed on administrative leave[WFTV-TV (Orlando, FL)]
• Biden to give away 400 million N95 masks starting next week [AP News]
• CORBEVAX, a new patent-free COVID-19 vaccine, could be a pandemic game changer globally [The Conversation]
• Navy accelerates the discharge process for sailors who refuse a coronavirus vaccine [Stars and Stripes]
• After Omicron, we could use a break. We may just get it [Stat]
• Monitoring COVID-19
[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
• Wine 7.0 is a Massive Upgrade with Improved Windows App Support, New Theme, and More Improvements [SOURCE]
• The Sun Is Stranger Than Astrophysicists Imagined [Quanata Magazine]
• Linux malware sees 35% growth during 2021 [It's FOSS News]
• IRS Will Require Facial Recognition Scans to Access Your Taxes [Gizmodo]
Podcasts and Long Form Videos
title
How To Build The Universe in a Computer
FTC Aiming to Block Illegal Mergers
Brian Keating: Cosmology, Astrophysics, Aliens and Losing the Nobel Prize | Lex Fridman Podcast #257
Cargo Door Prototype Spotted With Smooth Nosecone | SpaceX Boca Chica
SLS RS-25 Engine Test, 19 January 2022
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On This Day
January 20th is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 345 days remain until the end of the year (346 in leap years).
Historical Events
(Please note that the Wikipedia articles often contain a bibliography and links to where you can learn more about a historical event)
250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.[citation needed]
1156 – Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Lake Köyliö.
1265 – The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament".
1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
1356 – Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.
1523 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
1567 – Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
1649 – The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings.
1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signs preliminary articles of peace with the Kingdom of France, setting the stage for the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year.
1785 – Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay, beginning the British colonization of Australia. Arthur Phillip decides that Port Jackson is a more suitable location for a colony.
1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British during the First Opium War.
1877 – The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
1909 – Newly formed automaker General Motors (GM) buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running Pontiac division.
1921 – The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die.
1921 – The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
1929 – The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released.
1936 – King George V of the United Kingdom dies. His eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII. The title Prince of Wales is not used for another 22 years.
1937 – Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms.
1941 – A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
1942 – World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish question".
1945 – World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
1945 – World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
1949 – Point Four Program, a program for economic aid to poor countries, is announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as president.
1954 – In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the youngest man to be elected into that office, and the first Catholic.
1972 – Pakistan launches its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
1973 – Amílcar Cabral, leader of the independence movement in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, is assassinated in Conakry, Guinea.
1974 – China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam.
1981 – Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
1986 – In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
1990 – Protests in Azerbaijan, part of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
1991 – Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
1992 – Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France, killing 87 of the 96 people on board.
2001 – President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent four-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
2009 – Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the first African-American President of the United States.
2009 – A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.
2018 – A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others.
2018 – Syrian civil war: The Government of Turkey announces the initiation of the Afrin offensive and begins shelling Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions in Afrin Region.
2021 – Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States of America. At 78, he becomes the oldest person ever inaugurated. Kamala Harris becomes the first female Vice President of the United States.
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Published at 5:00am on Thursday, January 20, 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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