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Weather
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Almanac
Macon Calendar
Local and StateNews
Russo-UKrainian War Updates
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
Science and Technology
Russo-Ukrainian War Videos (mostly long form)
On This Day
Support Macon Media
OUTLOOK
Showers and thunderstorms return to the area through tonight as a cold front moves across the region from the west. In the wake of this front, well below normal temperatures are expected into the weekend. A warming trend brings temperatures back above normal early next week.
• Otto Fire Department has established a fundraiser to assist the family of an injured firefighter (Chief Rholetter) on [GoFundMe]
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Local Weather
General Forecast Through Saturday Night
Franklin Area
Today
A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Partly sunny, with highs in the lower 50s. Light winds out of the southwest shifting and increasing to come out of the southwest 10 to 15 mph by midmorning. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
A chance of rain showers before 1am, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers between 1am and 3am, then a slight chance of snow showers after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 30. Winds out of the west 5 to 10 mph shifting and decreasing to light winds out of the northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday
A slight chance of snow showers before 10am, then a slight chance of rain and snow shower, then a chance of rain showers after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the upper 40s. Light winds out of the west in the morning increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday Night
Widespread frost, mainly after 2am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows in the upper 20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the early evening becoming light after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Sunday
Widespread frost before 10am. Otherwise, sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 40.
Highlands Plateau
Today
A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 11am. Increasing clouds, with highs in the mid 40s. Winds out of the southwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
A chance of rain and snow showers before 9pm, then a chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the upper 20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Saturday
A chance of snow showers before 11am, then a chance of rain and snow showers between 11am and 1pm, then a slight chance of rain showers after 1pm. Partly sunny, with highs near 40. Winds out of the west 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-to-upper 20s. Winds out of the northwest around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Sunday
Sunny, with highs near 60.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 40.
Otto and South Central Macon County
Today
A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 11am. Partly sunny, with highs near 50. Light winds out of the southwest in the early morning increasing to 5 to 15 mph by midmorning. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
A chance of rain showers before midnight, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers between midnight and 4am, then a slight chance of snow showers after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with lows around freezing. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday
A slight chance of snow showers before 9am, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers, then a slight chance of rain showers after 10am. Partly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 40s. Winds out of the west 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Saturday Night
Widespread frost after 2am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with lows around 30. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Sunday
Widespread frost before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with highs in the mid 60s.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the lower 40s.
Nantahala Area
Today
A slight chance of rain and snow showers before 9am, then rain showers likely. Partly sunny, with highs in the mid 40s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Tonight
Rain showers likely before midnight, then a chance of rain and snow showers between midnight and 4am, then a slight chance of snow showers after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with lows around freezing. Winds our of the west 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday
A slight chance of snow showers before 9am, then a chance of rain and snow showers between 9am and noon, then a chance of rain showers after noon. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the lower 40s. Winds out of the west 3 to 8 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday Night
Widespread frost after 4am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows around 30. Winds out of the northwest 3 to 6 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Sunday
Widespread frost before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with highs near 60.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the lower 40s.
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Hazards and Tropical Weather
Periods of very windy conditions are expected today through Saturday night, especially in exposed or elevated areas.
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Almanac
Air quality is in the upper range of green for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the lower range of yellow.
Fire and Smoke Map
Local Air Monitor
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium-high range (9.4 out of 12) today with Oak, Juniper, and Birch being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the high range (8.0 out of 12).
Record Weather Events for April 8th
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 84°F in Franklin in 1890 Lowest Temperature 16°F in Highlands in 2007 Greatest One-Day Rain 3.30 inches in Highlands in 1914 Greatest One-Day Snowfall 3.0 inches in Highlands in 1989
Record weather events for March in Macon County
Weather Extremes for Macon County for the month of April Data available from 1873 to 2018 Highest Temperature 91°F in Franklin on 04-26-1986
Lowest Temperature 13°F in Highlands on 04-01-1987
Greatest Rainfall 7.00 inches in Highlands on 04-07-1895
Greatest Snowfall 9.5 inches in Franklin on 04-04-1987
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
• Code Purple issued for Friday and Saturday as cold, snow move in [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• New outdoor patio coming to Root + Barrel on Franklin’s Main Street [The Southern Scoop News]
• The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is showing its age, but the park service has a fix, parking passes [WVLT-TV (Knoxville, TN)]
• Sheriff says ‘disturbing pattern’ of school threats reported across NC [WHNS-TV (Greenville, SC)]
• NC education officials float school psychologist internship program, more funding for school buses [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
• Photos and video of the 2022 Vietnam Veterans Day Observance in Franklin, NC [Macon Media]
Macon County Commissioners - March 2022 Special Meeting
The Macon County Board of Commissioners held a special called meeting on March 24th, 2022, to provide match funding to be used by local Internet providers in NC GREAT broadband grant submittals. Commissioners voted 5-0 to each application $50,000 in matching funds from their pot of money ($6.9 million) from the American Rescue Plan Act. Frontier Communications and Balsam West each will receive $50,000 for their applications and $100,000 for the two applications being submitted by Altice USA (known locally as Morris Broadband/Optimum). If the providers are not awarded GREAT funding, the funds will revert back to Macon County.
WNC Broadband Meeting
Kevin Corbin (NC Senate 50th District) and Karl Gillespie (NC House 120th District) hosted an event (MOnday, March 21st) at Holly Springs Baptist Church to discuss expanding access to broadband in western North Carolina. Among those represented, were the Division of Broadband and Digital Equity, members of the NC House (Karl Gillespie (120th), Mike Clampitt (NC-119th), and Mark Pless (118th) that serve the counties in the NC Senate 50th District represented by Senator Corbin. Local elected officials and staff members from the counties and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee and the Town of Franklin and Highlands were also present, as well as Southwestern Community College, Morris Broadband, Frontier Communications, Balsam West, and other regional internet providers. There were also members of the public and regional news media outlets present. This is the video of the full event.
• Interactive map: average date of last spring freeze across the United States [Climate.gov]
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Special Section: Russo-Ukrainian War Updates
(sharing of a particular source is not an endorsement)
(Longer videos are in the Russo-Ukraine Videos section)
• Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 7 [Institute for the Study of War] [PDF for April 5th]
Russia's New Priorities: Izyum/Slovansk; Kyiv Cleanup (FNN Live)
1/ Ukrainian Theater of War, Day 41: The past 24 hours saw Russian forces continue retreat from the Sumy oblast, although a small portion maintains a token Russian force. Redeployment of units from Kyiv & Sumy to Izium continues. #UkraineWar #RussianUkrainianWar #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/jqxPf9AAmD
— Jomini of the West (@JominiW) April 6, 2022
Day 43: Short Update | Operator Starsky
• Germany intercepts Russians’ talk of indiscriminate killings in Ukraine [Microsoft News]
• Bucha mayor: 'We're finding more bodies every day' [DW]
• Russia-Ukraine live news: Von der Leyen and Borrell head to Kyiv [Al Jazeera]
• Ukraine War: Kremlin spokesman Peskov admits 'significant' Russian losses [BBC News]
• NATO FM meeting: 'One of the challenges will be getting Ukraine the weapons as quickly as possible' [France 24]
• How the world failed to prevent war by misunderstanding the nature of disinformation [Ukriniform]
• Russia says it would have to 'rebalance' if Finland and Sweden join NATO [Reuters via Yahoo! News]
News from Russian or pro-Russian outlets
• Fake agents arrested after bribing their way into Biden’s inner circle [Russia Today]
• Sick of Ukraine, sick of Zelensky, dreading US Tomahawks, B-2’s and F-35’s over Eastern Ukraine See more at https://english.pravda.ru/opinion/151048-eastern_ukraine/ [Pravda ]
• UN General Assembly passes resolution on Russia’s suspension from Human Rights Council [TASS Russian News Agency]
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National and World News Roundup
• Department of Justice Finds PA Court System Violated Federal Law By Banning Medication for Opioid Use Disorder [Legal Action Center]
• Justice Department Finds that Pennsylvania Courts Discriminated Against People with Opioid Use Disorder [SOURCE]
• Justice Department finds Pa. courts discriminated against people with opioid use disorder [Spotlight PA]
U.S. Senate CONFIRMS Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court
• Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmed to Supreme Court in Historic First [Newsweek]
• House panel: Justice Dept. 'obstructing' Trump records probe [ AP News via Yahoo! News]
• Raised-without-antibiotics label on beef not always accurate, study shows [Courthouse News Service]
• As Mortgage Rates Rise, Home Sellers Fear Time Is Running Out to Cash In [Wall Street Journal]
• Marjorie Taylor Greene says she reported Jimmy Kimmel to Capitol Police after Will Smith joke [The Hill]
Global National: April 7, 2022 | Ottawa's 2022 budget takes aim at housing affordability
PBS NewsHour Full Episode April 7th, 2022
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COVID-19 News and Updates
Here is a section on COVID-19. It includes 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 4:07pm CEST, 7 April 2022, there have been 493,392,853 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,165,833 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 5 April 2022, a total of 11,250,782,214 vaccine doses have been administered.
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 4:07pm CEST, 7 April 2022, there have been 79,501,007 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 975,540 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 1 April 2022, a total of 546,128,894 vaccine doses have been administered.
• The 'friend-shield effect': Why people are less likely to perceive COVID-19 risk around friends [CTV News]
• Nancy Pelosi tests positive for Covid-19, spokesman says [CNN]
• U.S. court reinstates Biden federal employee COVID vaccine mandate [Reuters]
• F.B.I. Preparing to Investigate How Classified Material Went to Trump’s Home [New York Times]
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Science and Technology News Roundup
• Ancient footprints in New Mexico raise questions about when humans inhabited North America [PBS Newshour]
• OpenMower: Open Source Robotic Lawn Mower With RTK GPS [Hackaday]
• Meet the 1,300 librarians racing to back up Ukraine’s digital archives [Washington Post]
• Brilliant Planet is running algae farms to pull carbon out of the air[Tech Crunch]
• Elon Musk’s influence on Twitter concerns former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao [CNBC]
• Tesla Will Sell Its Long-Awaited Cybertruck Next Year, Elon Musk Says [New York Times]
• Free, legally available series/movies on YouTube in a Netlflix-like interface [Lamplight TV]
Podcasts and Long Form Videos
Anything from educational, entertainment, history, current events and technology
Level1 News April 6 2022: Just Destroy It ✓
The 3D Printing Cycle - DTNS 4248
Shiny New 128 Core DevOps Build Server For Greg Kroah-Hartman! AMD Epyc ftw
Karl Deisseroth: Depression, Schizophrenia, and Psychiatry | Lex Fridman Podcast #274
Ax-1 Mission | Launch (Live at 7:45am) | SpaceX
Ship 20 Moved Next to Suborbital Pad B | SpaceX Boca Chica
5 Year Anniversary Celebration of This Week in Linux!!!
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Russo-Ukrainian War Videos (mostly long form)
--> Russian war crimes: The end of German illusions? DW News
Ukraine: An economy under attack | DW Business
Reservists and irregulars in Ukraine - "A people at war"
Russia: A small town clings to its Soviet past | DW Documentary
Ukraine: The Seeds of War | Al Jazeera Documentary
Civilians flee as Ukraine braces for redoubled Russian assault in the south-east • FRANCE 24
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On This Day
April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 267 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)
217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
1139 – Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated by Innocent II for supporting Anacletus II as pope for seven years, even though Roger had already publicly recognized Innocent's claim to the papacy.
1149 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum.
1232 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols begin their siege on Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty.
1271 – In Syria, sultan Baibars conquers the Krak des Chevaliers.
1730 – Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
1820 – The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
1832 – Black Hawk War: Around 300 United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
1866 – Italy and Prussia ally against the Austrian Empire.
1886 – William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
1895 – In Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
1904 – The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, dies.
1908 – Harvard University votes to establish the Harvard Business School.
1911 – Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity.
1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City's financial district.
1924 – Sharia courts are abolished in Turkey, as part of Atatürk's Reforms.
1929 – Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
1935 – The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
1940 – The Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party elects Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal as General Secretary, marking the beginning of his 44-year-long tenure as de facto leader of Mongolia.
1942 – World War II: Siege of Leningrad: Soviet forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
1942 – World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.
1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.
1943 – Otto and Elise Hampel are executed in Berlin for their anti-Nazi activities.
1945 – World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.
1946 – Électricité de France, the world's largest utility company, is formed as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.
1950 – India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat–Nehru Pact.
1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills in an attempt to prevent the 1952 steel strike.
1953 – Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by British Kenya's rulers.
1954 – A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collides with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
1954 – South African Airways Flight 201 A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 crashes into the sea during night killing 21 people.
1959 – A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
1959 – The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
1960 – The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
1968 – BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after takeoff. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
1970 – Bahr El-Baqar primary school bombing: Israeli bombers accidentally strike an Egyptian school. Forty-six children are killed.
1975 – Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball's first African American manager.
1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racist remarks he had made while on Nightline.
1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
1993 – The Republic of North Macedonia joins the United Nations.
1993 – The Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on mission STS-56.
2004 – War in Darfur: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government, the Justice and Equality Movement, and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army.
2006 – Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.
2008 – The construction of the world's first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain.
2010 – U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign the New START Treaty.
2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham.
2020 – Bernie Sanders ends his presidential campaign, leaving Joe Biden as the Democratic Party's nominee.
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Published at 5:00am on Friday, April 08, 2022
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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