NATIONAL OUTLOOK
...Strong storm system to affect the central and eastern U.S. through Saturday...
Much of the nation east of the Mississippi River will continue to observe unseasonably warm temperatures through Friday. This is courtesy of an upper level ridge and a strong surge of warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico ahead of an approaching cold front. Forecast highs ranging from 15 to 30 degrees above February averages will be possible from the Deep South to southern New England on Friday. Some locations could easily achieve record highs before the front exits the coast this weekend, with readings into the low to mid 80s for some areas across the southeast states.
A strong winter storm will track from the Rockies to the Upper Midwest through Saturday. A surface low continues to gain strength as it moves across the Midwest today, and reaches Lake Huron by Saturday morning. A band of heavy snow is expected north of the surface low from northern Iowa to northern Michigan, where both blizzard and winter storm warnings are currently in effect. Some areas could get 8 to 12 inches of snow before the event ends by Friday night. In the warm sector of this storm system, showers and thunderstorms are expected Friday and Friday night from the Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic region. Severe thunderstorms are likely on Friday across portions of the Ohio valley and southern Great Lakes, owing to favorable shear and instability. The Storm Prediction Center has additional details on that.
Elsewhere across the continental U.S., expect light to moderate rain to return to the West Coast as a couple of disturbances pass through the region. Scattered snow showers are likely for the central and northern Rockies through Saturday with mainly light amounts expected. The Desert Southwest and the southern Plains should remain sunny to partly cloudy.
A map from the Storm Prediction Center shows the area expected to be impacted by the severe weather outbreak today and into tonight. These storms have a slight chance of reaching Macon County between midnight and 6 am. The main impact for us will be winds and possible hail.
LOCAL OVERVIEW
A cold front will move through the area tonight with showers and thunderstorms mainly for the mountains. There is a chance some of them could be severe Temperatures cool to near normal late in the weekend then warm up again early in the week. Another stronger cold front will move through the area mid week, increasing rain chances again.
THREE DAY OUTLOOK
Friday
Patchy dense fog before 10 am. Partly sunny with highs near the lower 70s. The days will start with light breezes from the southeast, shifting to come out of the south at 5 to 10 mph by mid morning.
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy with lows near 50. Winds out of the south near 10 mph. 60% chance of rain with rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch expected. Thunderstorms are possible overnight as a line of storms will approach from the Ohio Valley. There is a slight chance some of them could be severe. Rain chances peak between 2 am and 6 am.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with decreasing clouds, becoming mostly clear by 3 pm. Highs near 60 with winds out of the northwest 5 to 15 mph, gusting to 25 mph. 40% chance of rain, mainly before noon.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear with lows near the mid 20s and wind chills perhaps dipping into the teens. Winds out the northwest 5 to 10 mph, gusting to 20 mph, mainly before midnight.
Sunday
Sunny with highs near the mid 50s and calm winds.
Sunday Night
Partly cloudy with lows near freezing.
HAZARDS
No hazardous weather is expected today. There is a slight chance of severe thunderstorms overnight, mainly between midnight and 6 am. Winds will also be gusting up to 30 mph tomorrow, especially in higher elevations, so please put off burning debris or brush piles until sometime next week.
As always, you can check to see what advisories, watches and warnings are in effect for Macon County by visiting http://is.gd/MACONWARN
MACON CALENDAR
If you have an event you wish to be added to this calendar, please send the information, along with a flyer or photo, to editor@maconmedia.com
There is no charge for civic, educational or non profit groups.
FULL CIRCLE RECOVERY CENTER HARM REDUCTION TEA PARTY TODAY
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.
Be the Voice for a Child! Don’t let another child’s voice go unheard. The Guardian Ad Litem program is currently seeking volunteers in your community to be the voice of a foster child in court. The North Carolina Guardian ad Litem Program thrives on volunteerism, and its vital work is only made possible by dedicated volunteers who are committed to the cause of keeping children safe from future harm. We will have a training class for volunteers in Sylva starting March 16, 2017. We would love to have you join us. It's not too late to apply!
If you have an interest in becoming the voice for a child, contact Joe Allen at the Macon County GAL office at 828-349-7222 or Shannon Cowan at the Jackson County GAL Office at 828-587-2087. You can also find out more about the program by visiting www.ncgal.org or www.facebook.com/ncGuardianAdLitem
Weather Extremes Almanac for February 24, 2017
North Carolina
High Temperature 86ºF in Fayetteville, Cumberland County in 1982
Low Temperature -10ºF in Montreat, Yancey County in 1939
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 2.85 inches in Albemarle, Stanly County in 1979
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 16.3 inches in Montreat, Yancey County in 1942
Macon County
High Temperature 75ºF at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1996
Low Temperature 3ºF in Highlands in 1989
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 2.42 inches in Nantahala in 1975
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 5.2 inches in Highlands in 2015
Astronomy
Twilight Begins: 6:43 am
Sunrise: 7:09 am
Sunset 6:25 pm
Twilight Ends: 6:50 pm
Day Length: 11 hours 14 minutes
Sunrise to Sunset: 12 hours 07 minutes
Moon Phase: Waning Crescent with 4% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated
Moonrise 5:47 am
Moonset 4:39 pm
Observing the Skies
Evening Events and Planets
Venus and Mars are the bright evening planets.
VENUS
Rises 8:21 am
Sets 9:16 pm
Brightness -4.4 Magnitude
Distance 0.380 AU
Constellation: Pisces
MARS
Rises 9:07 am
Sets 9:51 pm
Brightness 1.3 Magnitude
Distance: 2.008 AU
Constellation: Pisces
Morning Events and Planets
MERCURY
Rises 6:58 am
Sets 5:36 pm
Brightness -0.7 Magnitude
Distance 1.378 AU
Constellation: Aquarius
SATURN
Rises 3:06 am
Sets 12:52 pm
Brightness 1.3
Distance: 10.350 AU
Constellation: Sagittarius
JUPITER
Rises 9:59 pm
Sets 9:19 am
Brightness -2.1 Magnitude
Distance: 4.726 AU
Constellation: Virgo
Sky Guides for this week
Sky and Telescope Magazine
Astronomy Magazine
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]
CROWD FUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
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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 have made it possible for Macon Media to begin purchasing state of the art equipment and begin work on building a real website with features not employed by any local news outlets.
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 4:31 am on Feb 24, 2017
#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.
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