• ...OUTDOOR BURN BAN IN EFFECT...
• [Public Safety Notifications]
• [SEVERE WEATHER CHANNEL]
• You can now support Macon Media with a $1.99 monthly Facebook subscription at [LINK]
NWS GENERAL OUTLOOK
1. Fire weather concerns continue amid a dry and stagnant weather pattern. A Fire Danger Statement has been issued for this afternoon for all of western North Carolina and northeast Georgia. Critically low relative humidity and breezy conditions are likely to occur each of the next several afternoons through the weekend.
2. Hot and dry through Saturday with high temperatures near daily records in some locations outside of the mountains. A cold front may bring some rainfall to our area on Sunday, but any accumulations will likely be too small to improve drought conditions. Significantly cooler temperatures are expected early next week.
WEATHER SPONSOR
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DAY SPONSOR
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GENERAL FORECAST
(since this is a quick forecast intended to cover the whole county, bear in mind that higher elevations may experience cooler temperatures than this and the lower elevations may experience higher temperatures than those in the forecast)
..TODAY....Sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. West winds 5 to 10 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
..TONIGHT....Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.
..FRIDAY....Sunny. Highs around 80. Northwest winds around 5 mph.
..FRIDAY NIGHT....Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s. Northwest winds around 5 mph, becoming northeast after midnight.
..SATURDAY....Mostly sunny in the morning, then becoming partly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph in the afternoon.
..SATURDAY NIGHT....Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows in the mid 40s. Chance of rain 50 percent.
..SUNDAY....Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon. Much cooler with highs in the upper 50s. Chance of rain 50 percent.
..SUNDAY NIGHT....Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 30s.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER
A statewide burn ban issued by the North Carolina Forest Service is currently in place. Open burning of any kind is illegal.
...INCREASED FIRE DANGER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...
Relative humidity values will fall into the 20 to 30 percent range again Thursday afternoon, with winds increasing to around 10 to 15 mph with gusts of 15 to 25 mph. With vegetation remaining dry, the ongoing drought, and favorable meteorological conditions, fires will be able to catch and spread rapidly.
A statewide burn ban issued by the North Carolina Forest Service is currently in place. Open burning of any kind is illegal.
NEWS UPDATES
(Links aggregated to show what various news outlets are reporting)
State and Local News
How one climate cycle plays a key role in droughts | WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)
• April 2026 Meeting of the Macon County Board of Commissioners [Macon Media]
• Jury finds that Ticketmaster and Live Nation had an anticompetitive monopoly over big concert venues [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
• Fitzmaurice wins American Library Association Award [SMoky Mountain News]
• Though WNC doesn't have Amtrak, excursion rail generates $191M impact [Asheville Citizen-Times]
Iran War News
Can the U.S. Load All the Empty Super Tankers | Why Is an American Carrier Beating Around the BUSH? | What's Going on With Shipping?
• Iran Update Special Report, April 15, 2026 [Institute for the Study of War]
• AP News Liveblog [AP News]
• Jerusalem Post Liveblog [Jerusalem Post]
• BBC Liveblog [BBC News]
• Al Jazeera Liveblog [Al Jazeera]
• Fox News Liveblog [Fox News]
World News
Has the United States become a rogue state? | DW News
• Special counsel seeks 2-yr sentence for ex-President Yoon over perjury [Yonhap News Agency]
• Pope Leo XIV visits Cameroon as Biya faces unrest and separatist war [Africa News]
• Turkey orders mass arrests over online praise for recent school shootings [France 24]
• Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 15, 2026 [Institute for the Study of War]
Trump isolates himself? Backlash grows in Europe | World News Tonight | TVP World
National News
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - April 15, 2026 | ABC News
• Dozens arrested as protesters demand Schumer and Gillibrand block sale of bombs to Israel [AP News]
• Leavitt says Interior will submit plans to begin construction of 250ft Trump arch [The Hill]
• Trump posts image of himself with Jesus as administration's pope criticism continues [Reuters]
• Police flood Orange Crush island hot spot, warn of teen takeovers as beach bash madness returns [Fox News]
Financial News
Why Stocks Are Gaining Despite Iran War Risks | Insight with Haslinda Amin 04/16/2026 | Bloomberg Television
• Iran war brings US close to net crude exporter for first time since World War Two [Yahoo Finance]
• Here are all the ways the Iran war has affected the U.S. economy so far [CNBC]
• Trump threatens to fire Fed chair Powell if he doesn't leave in May [BBC News]
Science and Technology
What's Behind the Sudden Increase In Meteorite Reports in Early 2026? | Anton Petrov
• FCC exempts Netgear from ban on foreign routers, doesn’t explain why [Ars Technica]
• First Statewide Data Center Ban Passed by Maine Legislature [Gizmodo]
• AI identifies early risk patterns for skin cancer [Science Daily]
Crypto News
Stocks Rally Back Near The Highs | Benjamin Cowen
• World Liberty Wants WLFI Locked Beyond Trump's Second Term—Investors Aren't Thrilled [Decrypt]
• Bitcoin should prepare now, even if quantum is 'lab experiment,’ Adam Back says [Coin Telegraph]
• Scarcity Pump or Monetary Suicide? The Radical Argument Against BIP-361 [Bitcoin.com]
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Published at 6.00am on Thursday, April 16, 2026
Author: Bobby Coggins
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