Daily Weather Briefing for Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Weather Advisories and Warnings Across the USA
NATIONAL OUTLOOK

...Active weather over the eastern U.S. through Wednesday will transition to a quiet pattern nationwide by week's end...

A strong low pressure system located south of Cape Cod will continue to lift towards the northeast through the middle of the week, reaching Nova Scotia by Wednesday. Periods of rain are forecast for coastal sections of the Northeast through Tuesday night, along with gusty winds. Across interior portions of the northeast U.S., snow and some sleet is expected through Wednesday morning, after which the precipitation will begin to abate. Much of the Northeast has winter weather advisories in effect, and winter storm warnings for northern Maine where the greatest snowfall accumulations are forecast.

Another low pressure system crossing the central Plains will continue to produce widespread snow across South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota through Tuesday night. The northern Great Lakes region will be affected on Wednesday as the surface low tracks towards the northeast. Numerous winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories are in effect, with snowfall amounts on the order of 8 to 12 inches where the heaviest snow bands set up. Windy conditions south of the surface low will increase wildfire potential across parts of Oklahoma and northern Texas with very dry conditions in place.

High pressure will continue to build over much of the West and deflect the north Pacific storm track northward into Canada and this will lead to a drier weather pattern for the West Coast through the end of the week. The showers that are currently over the western U.S. will continue to decrease in coverage.



LOCAL OVERVIEW

Mild high pressure will build over our region from the south through Wednesday. A cold front will move through the forecast area early Thursday...bringing colder temperatures to the region for Friday and the weekend.



THREE DAY OUTLOOK




Wednesday

Increasing clouds with highs near the mid 60s. Calm winds rising to come from the southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.


Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy with lows near 40. Winds from the south 5 to 10 mph shifting to come from the west, then the northwest after midnight. 70% chance of rain, mainly after midnight with rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch expected.




Thursday

Mostly sunny with highs near the upper 40s and winds out of the northwest 5 to 15 mph, gusting to 20 mph. 30% chance of rain, mainly before 7 am.


Thursday Night

Partly cloudy with lows near the ujpper 20s and winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.




Friday

Mostly sunny with highs near 40.


Friday Night

Mostly cloudy with lows near the mid 20s.




HAZARDS

No hazardous weather expected.



MACON CALENDAR

If you have an event you wish to be added to this calendar, please send the information, along with a flyer of photo, to editor@maconmedia.com
There is no charge for civic, educational or non profit groups.



MARDI GRAS DINNER TO BENEFIT REACH OF MACON COUNTY

A Mardi Gras Dinner to benefit REACH of Macon COunty will be held at Root + Barrel Kitchen on Main Street on Tuesday, February 28th at 6:30 pm.
Reserved tickets are $75 and open seating is $60.
More information is on the flyer posted here.





Weather Extremes Almanac for January 25, 2017



North Carolina

High Temperature 85ºF in Greenevers, Duplin County in 1943
Low Temperature -16ºF in B21.0 inches in Statesville, Iredell County in 1926
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 3.66 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1964
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 22.0 inches in Statesville in 1926

Macon County

High Temperature 70ºF in Franklin in 1967
Low Temperature -2ºF in Franklin in 1963
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 3.66 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1964
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 4.0 inches in Nantahala in 1938


Astronomy


Twilight Begins: 7:10 am
Sunrise: 7:37 am
Sunset 5:55 pm
Twilight Ends: 6:22 pm
Day Length: 11 hours 12 minutes

Moon Phase: Waning Crescent with 5% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated
Moonrise 5:36 am
Moonset 4:04 pm

Observing the Skies

Evening Events and Planets

Chart shows sky at 8:30 pm tonight



Venus and Mars are the bright evening planets, but both are close to the western horizon, so don't dally too long before you get out to see them.

Venus -4.4 Magnitude Distance 0.589 AU COnstellation: Pisces
Mars 1.1 Magnitude Distance: 1.805 AU Constellation: Pisces

Morning Events and Planets

Chart shows sky at 4 am on Monday, Jan 23rd




Mercury 0.0 Magnitude Distance 1.111 AU Constellation: Sagittarius (does not rise until after daybreak)
Saturn 1.4 Magnitude Distance: 10.764 AU Constellation: Ophiuchus
Jupiter -1.9 Magnitude Distance: 5.155 AU Constellation: Virgo

Earth Sky has an article on the eclipses of 2017. [LINK]

Heavens Above has an Android App that will assist you in observing the sky and even has a satellite tracker that will let you know when the International Space Station and dozens of other satellites are overhead. [LINK]

Stellarium is also an app that will assist you in observing the sky. It is available in both Android [LINK] and iOS versions. [LINK]





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If you have a business or event you are interested in sponsorship opportunities or underwriting coverage, send an email to editor@MaconMedia.com for more information. Serious inquiries only.

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You can find out more information on how to do that and some of what I plan to accomplish if I reach certain levels of funding at >> https://www.patreon.com/MaconMedia

Published at 4:45 am on Jan 25, 2017 (I know it's late, I didn't wake up until 3 am)

#WNCscan #MaconWx #MaconSafety


Be kind to one another.


Data and information sources: Sources (except where otherwise credited): heavens-above.com, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, The National Weather Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Penn State University Electronic Wall Map, The State Climate Office of North Carolina, Storm Prediction Center, U.S. Naval Observatory, and the Weather Prediction Center.