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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
An upper low pressure system will weaken and lift northeast away from the Carolinas tonight. Diurnal shower and thunderstorm chances will continue throughout the rest of the weekend. A cold front will approach from the northwest on Monday, keeping shower and thunderstorm chances around. High pressure returns Tuesday into most of Wednesday leading to drier conditions.
• The nation marks 1,000,000 Americans lost to COVID-19 [Macon Media]
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Local Weather
General Forecast Through Tuesday Night
Franklin Area
Today
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs near 80. Light and variable winds. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm, then a slight chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid 50s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 20%.
Monday
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 9am. Mostly sunny, with highs near 80. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the west 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 50. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph becoming calm before midnight.
Tuesday
Sunny, with highs in the lower 80s.
Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the lower 50s.
Highlands Plateau
Today
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 2pm and 4pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 70s. Light and variable winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8pm. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid 50s. Light winds out of the northwest. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10am. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid 70s. Winds out of the west 5 to 10 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 50. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday
Sunny, with highs in the mid 70s.
Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the lower 50s.
Otto and South Central Macon County
Today
A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 10am. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with highs near 80. Light and variable winds. Chance of rain is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm, then a slight chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid 50s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 20%.
Monday
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10am. Mostly sunny, with highs near 80. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the west 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Monday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the low to mid 50s. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph becoming calm before midnight.
Tuesday
Sunny, with highs near 80.
Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 50s.
Nantahala Area
Today
A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 10am. Widespread fog, mainly before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 70s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am, then a slight chance of showers after 5am. Partly cloudy, with lows in the upper 50s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 8am. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid 70s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the west around 5 mph in the afternoon. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 50s. Light winds out of the northwest.
Tuesday
Sunny, with highs in the mid 70s.
Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 50s.
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Hazards and Tropical Weather
Hazardous weather is not expected today or tonight.
A cold front will track across the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia on Monday leading to shower and thunderstorm development. A few of these storms could become strong to severe with the main potential impact being damaging wind gusts.
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Almanac
24 Hour Smoke Forecast
There are no expected smoke fields to be crossing Macon County today, so no map was produced.
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 upper range of green .
Fire and Smoke Map
Local Air Monitor
Pollen
Record Weather Events for May 15th
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 89°F in Franklin in 1962
Lowest Temperature 28°F in Highlands in 1910
Greatest Rainfall 3.90 inches in Highlands in 2014
Greatest Snowfall (no measurable snowfall has been recorded on this date since records started being kept in 1872)
Record weather events for May in Macon County
Weather Extremes for Macon County for the month of May Data available from 1873 to 2018 Highest Temperature 92°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 05-20-1996
Lowest Temperature 23°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 05-02-1963
Greatest Rainfall 5.97 inches in Highlands on 05-30-2018
Greatest Snowfall 2.5 inches in Highlands on 05-07-1992
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)
Wednesday, May 18th
Vaya Health Class - Bipolar Disorder and Extreme Mood Variation – Is There Stability?
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room
Please register for this in-person VAYA Health class at https://www.vayahealth.com/calendar/ or call the library 828-524-3600.
Whether you are the caregiver of someone with bipolar disorder or an individual living with the inability to maintain a consistent mood, feeling 'stable' is often an infrequent reality. This class examines features and symptoms of the different types of the disorder. It also addresses causes, risk factors, and, most importantly, treatment. Specific focus is placed on the impact for the geriatric population.
This is a free event facilitated by the Vaya Health GERO team. CEU’s are provided through NC Department of Health and Human Services. If you're not able to attend this event, or you'd like to see what else they have to offer, feel free to visit https://www.vayahealth.com/calendar/ to sign up for free webinars offered by Vaya Health.
Friday, May 20th
Questions about Mental Health? with NAMI Appalachian South
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room
NAMI Appalachian South (National Alliance on Mental Illness) representatives will be showing films and answering questions about mental health and local resources.
Please visit our Mental Wellness display of books, films, and information about local mental health resources.
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Local and State News
• State to take over social services in North Carolina county [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
• Thousand-plus rally for abortion rights at ‘Bans Off Our Bodies’ march in Raleigh [Raleigh News and Observer]
• Bill that would end schools sending lunch debt to collection agencies passes House, Senate [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• Word from the Smokies: DLiA brings aspiring naturalists together for eco-adventure[Asheville Citizen-Times]
Rifle Salute at Annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service
Full video of the ceremony will be published Monday.
• Macon County Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting May 2022 [Macon Media]
• Franklin Town Council - Special Called Meeting Monday, May 9, 2022 [Macon Media]
• Macon County Board of Commissioners - April 2022 Regular Meeting [Macon Media]
• 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, May 14 [Institute for the Study of War]
• Russian Annexation of Occupied Ukraine Is Putin’s Unacceptable “Off-Ramp” [Institute for the Study of War] [PDF]
• Ukrainian political sociologist: This is a war of leadership failures at many levels [Courthouse News Service]
JOMINI OF THE WEST MAP (May 11th)
1/ Ukrainian TVD, Day 77-79. The past 72 hrs has seen the Ukrainian military press the advantages made by their limited Kharkiv counteroffensive to push Russian forces into the Belgorod Oblast. Russian offensive action along the Siverskyi Donets Line has achieved little success. pic.twitter.com/4eMsKr7IPq
— Jomini of the West (@JominiW) May 14, 2022
• Putin losing confidence in Ukraine war, former Russian PM says [DW News]
• Replenishing US arms supplies a matter of ‘urgency’ amid huge shipments to Ukraine [France 24]
• Ukraine Launches Counteroffensive to Disrupt Russian Supply Lines [Wall Street Journal]
• Finland's ruling party backs NATO bid [DW News]
• Turkey says it is ready to discuss NATO membership with Finland, Sweden [France 24]
• Ukraine conflict: Russian chemical attack claim fact-checked [BBC News]
• What happened to Russia's President Vladimir Putin? [Jerusalem Post]
News from Russian or pro-Russian outlets or Video About the Russian Perspective
• Finland ‘not afraid’ of Russia – minister [Russia Today]
• Prime Minister Morawiecki buries Poland [Pravda ]
• Russia asserts that it won’t capitulate in Ukraine, says envoy [TASS Russian News Agency]
The Ukraine War From Russia's Perspective
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National and World News Roundup
• U.S. abortion rights activists start 'summer of rage' with Saturday protests [Reuters]
• Rising Food Prices Roil Developing World [Wall Street Journal]
• Clarence Thomas says abortion leak has changed Supreme Court [ABC News]
• Capitol Hill and White House seize on baby formula shortage [CBS News]
Roe v Wade Opinion Leak (Read the Draft Opinion for Yourself)
Read the leaked your at Google Drive or below:
Eye on the Fourth Estate
[Definition]
• Buffalo's worst mass shooting takes 10 lives, leaves 3 wounded; attack called 'a racially motivated hate crime' [The Buffalo News]
WATCH: Buffalo police hold news conference following mass shooting | Washington Post
Global National: May 14, 2022 | Thousands protest against Quebec's French-language law
NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast - May 14th, 2022
PBS NewsHour Full Episode May 14th, 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 3:39pm CEST, 13 May 2022, there have been 517,648,631 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,261,708 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 10 May 2022, a total of 11,655,356,423 vaccine doses have been administered.
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 3:39pm CEST, 13 May 2022, there have been 81,417,085 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 991,595 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 6 May 2022, a total of 570,102,931 vaccine doses have been administered.
• TWiV 900: Burning down the mouse [Microbe TV]
• 4 Air Force cadets may not graduate due to vaccine refusal [AP News]
• How America Reached One Million Covid Deaths [New York Times]
• Coronavirus committee: Meat companies lied about impending shortage and put workers at risk [CNN]
• Judge tosses COVID-19 vaccine objections of Hanford workers [AP News]
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Science and Technology News Roundup
• Some top 100,000 websites collect everything you type—before you hit submit [ARS Technica]
• Elon Musk says Twitter legal team told him he violated an NDA [Reuters]
• How ICE became a $2.8b domestic surveillance agency [The Register]
• Return-To-Office Plans Unravel as Workers Rebel in Tight Job Market [Bloomberg]
• NASA safety advisors voice concerns over Boeing’s Starliner, SpaceX’s Starship [Spaceflight Now]
• 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
Glenn Loury: Race, Racism, Identity Politics, and Cancel Culture | Lex Fridman Podcast #285
SpaceX Starship Booster Testing, Ships Shuffled, Starlink, SpinLaunch, SOFIA, & Starliner
[NEW!] Elon Musk Explains Updates To Starship And Starbase!
TWiV 900: Burning down the mouse
SpaceX Rolls Booster 7 Back to Production Site for Raptor Engine Installation | Starship Boca Chica
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Russo-Ukrainian War Videos (mostly long form)
--> G7 countries condemn Russia's 'food war' in Ukraine | DW News
World's bread basket at risk: Russian invasion blocks farming
Fighting rages in Donbas, Russian forces appear stalled • FRANCE 24 English
Russia warns that it would be a 'mistake' for Finland and Sweden to join Nato | BBC News
How Russian land mines may pose a deadly risk to Ukrainians for years to come
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On This Day
May 15 is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 230 days remain until the end of the year.
Historical Events
Historical Events
(Please note that the Wikipedia articles often contain a bibliography and links to where you can learn more about a historical event)
221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.
392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne.
589 – King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I. A Catholic, she has great influence among the Lombard nobility.
756 – Abd-al-Rahman I becomes emir of Cordova, Spain
884 – Marinus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1004 – Henry II the Saint crowned King of Italy
1213 - King John of England names Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury
1252 – Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.
1525 – Insurgent peasants led by Anabaptist pastor Thomas Müntzer were defeated at the Battle of Frankenhausen, ending the German Peasants' War in the Holy Roman Empire.
1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest; she is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury.
1618 – Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made).
1648 – The Peace of Münster is ratified, by which Spain acknowledges Dutch sovereignty.
1791 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre proposes the Self-denying Ordinance.
1817 – Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
1836 – Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse.
1849 – The Sicilian revolution of 1848 is finally extinguished.
1850 – The Arana–Southern Treaty is ratified, ending "the existing differences" between Great Britain and Argentina.
1851 – The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia: Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the Confederate army to force Union General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley.
1891 – Pope Leo XIII defends workers' rights and property rights in the encyclical Rerum novarum, the beginning of modern Catholic social teaching.
1911 – In Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, the United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up.
1911 – More than 300 Chinese immigrants are killed in the Torreón massacre when the forces of the Mexican Revolution led by Emilio Madero take the city of Torreón from the Federales.
1919 – The Winnipeg general strike begins. By 11:00, almost the whole working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job.
1919 – Greek occupation of Smyrna. During the occupation, the Greek army kills or wounds 350 Turks; those responsible are punished by Greek commander Aristides Stergiades.
1929 – A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.
1932 – In an attempted coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is assassinated.
1933 – All military aviation organizations within or under the control of the RLM of Germany were officially merged in a covert manner to form its Wehrmacht military's air arm, the Luftwaffe.
1940 – USS Sailfish is recommissioned. It was originally the USS Squalus.
1940 – World War II: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation.
1940 – Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald's restaurant.
1941 – First flight of the Gloster E.28/39 the first British and Allied jet aircraft.
1941 – Joe DiMaggio begins a 56-game hitting streak.
1942 – World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.
1943 – Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
1945 – World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.
1948 – Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
1957 – At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.
1963 – Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.
1970 – President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army generals.
1972 – The Ryukyu Islands, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.
1974 – Ma'alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.
1981 - Soyuz 40 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Romanian) to Salyut 6
1988 – Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.
1991 – Édith Cresson becomes France's first female Prime Minister.
1997 – The United States government acknowledges the existence of the "Secret War" in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other "Secret War" veterans.
1997 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-84 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.[1]
2004 – Arsenal F.C. go an entire league campaign unbeaten in the English Premier League, joining Preston North End F.C with the right to claim the title "The Invincibles".
2008 – California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.
2010 – Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.
2013 – An upsurge in violence in Iraq leaves more than 389 people dead over three days.
2017 - State of Emergency declared in Sanaa, Yemen after outbreak of cholera kills 115
2018 - Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim is released from prison after being pardoned by King Muhammad V
2018 - 58 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and 1700 hospitalized on the Gaza border protesting opening of US embassy in Jerusalem and 70 year founding of Israel
2018 - Taliban forces attack and claim to has seized control of the western city of Farah, Afghanistan
2018 - North Korea threatens to pull out of summit with US and South Korea saying it can "not hide our feeling of repugnance" towards US security advisor John Bolton
2019 - US birthrate in 2018 the lowest for 32 years (total fertility rate 1,728 births per 1,000 women), with record lows for teen births
2019 - Findings from China's Chang'e-4 rover to the Moon suggests huge asteroid created the giant crater on Moon's far side with impact so great it cracked its crust and reached the mantle below published in "Nature"
2020 - Germany, Europe's largest economy, officially in recession due to COVID-19, as figures show economy shrank 2.2% 1st 3 months of the year.
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Published at 3:45am on Sunday, May 15, 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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