Daily Weather Briefing for Wednesday, March 15, 2017

SCHOOL DELAYS

Franklin and Nantahala area schools are on a two hour delay today, March 15th.

NATIONAL OVERVIEW

...Heavy snow possible over Northern New England...

...Heavy rain possible over parts of the Northwest Coast...

...Temperature will be 10 to 25 degrees below average over most of the eastern third of the country...

Deep low pressure along New England Coast will slowly move northeastward into the Canadian Maritimes by Thursday morning. The storm will produce snow from the Lower Great Lakes/Central Appalachians eastward to the Northern Mid-Atlantic Coast and the Northeast Coast with heavy snow over parts of Northern New England into Upstate New York. The heavy snow will slowly tapper off by Wednesday morning over Upstate New York and Northern New England. Light scatted snow will continue over parts of Northern New England into parts of Northern Mid-Atlantic on Wednesday afternoon, that will slowly retreat to parts of the Northern New England by Thursday morning. On Wednesday morning, upper-level energy rotating around the associated upper-level low, over the Northeast, will aid in producing light snow over parts of the Northern Mid-Atlantic Coast Wednesday afternoon into late Wednesday night. Additionally, cold air rotating around the storm will aid in producing lake effect snow south of Lakes Michigan through Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a front just off the Northwest Coast will move inland to the Northern High Plains to Northern California by Thursday. A plume of moisture associated with the boundary will stream into the Pacific Northwest that will slowly move southward to Northern/Central California Wednesday night into Thursday. The system will produce rain as far inland as the Northern Intermountain Region/Northern Rockies through Wednesday morning into Wednesday afternoon. On Wednesday morning, the storm's associated upper-level trough will begin to move onshore over the Northwest. The snow levels will start to lower on Wednesday evening into Thursday as snow begins to develop over the Northern Cascades and the Northern Rockies. Furthermore, rain will begin to move into parts of Northern California on Wednesday morning. 

LOCAL NEWS

Five years ago today, a pilot and four passengers perished in an accident at the Macon County Airport. Macon Media coverage of the accident is on the blog [LINK]. The FAA report can be read on the FAA website. [LINK]

LOCAL OUTLOOK

Cold Canadian high pressure will continue to bring below normal temperatures to our region through Thursday night. Some of the coldest air in weeks is expected Wednesday night. Another low pressure system will approach the area on Saturday. Expect seasonably mild temperatures over the weekend.

Weather Almanac for March 15th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 86°F in at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1967
Lowest Temperature -5°F in Franklin in 1993
Greatest Rainfall 4.01 inches in Highlands in 1912
Greatest Snowfall 1.0 inches in Highlands in 1960

Greatest Snowfall in one day recorded in Macon County was 25.5 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on March 13, 1993


THREE DAY OUTLOOK




TODAY (Outdoor burning is not recommended )

Sunny with highs near freezing and wind chills in the 20s. Winds will be out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts in the range of 25 to 30 mph as a wind field crosses Macon County between 6 am and 6 pm today. Relative humidity will be below 30% between noon and 6 pm, so combined with the winds, outdoor burning is not recommended today.


TONIGHT

Clear with lows near the mid to upper teens and wind chills near the upper single digits and lower teens. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.



THURSDAY

Sunny with highs near the upper 40s and winds out of the northwest near 10 mph.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows near the mid 20s and winds out of the northwest, calming before midnight.



FRIDAY

Patchy frost before 8 am. Highs near the mid to upper 50s. 20% chance of precipitation, with snow showers possible until 10 am, when a changeover to rain is expected. Little or no accumulation is expected.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows near the upper 30s and a 40% chance of rain showers after 8 pm.



HAZARDS

High winds and low humidity will combine to make today a day that outdoor burning is not recommended. Winds will also be a little high today. A wind field will be crossing Macon County from around 6 am today until 6 pm tonight. There may be scattered power outages as limbs or trees fall on power lines. IF you're driving or hiking in the high country, be on the lookout for falling limbs. If you see a downed power line, please do not attempt to touch it. Call 911 if there is fire or a life safety issue.

HOW TO REPORT AN ELECTRICAL OUTAGE

Duke Energy

Call 800.769.3766 or in Spanish 866.4.Apagón (866.427.2466).

If you see a fallen power line or safety hazard, call Duke Energy at 800.Power.On (800.769.3766) or in Spanish 866.4.Apagón (866.427.2466) or contact your local emergency services immediately. Do not touch a power line or anything in contact with it and keep others away until help arrives.

Haywood EMC

To report or inquire about power outages, call 1-800-951-6088


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 in pdf format or a high quality photo, to editor@maconmedia.com
There is no charge for civic, educational or non profit groups.


BENEFIT 4 BRITTANY & DIANE

Saturday, March 25 at 5 PM - 9 PM
at Cartoogechaye Elementary School

Learn more about it on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/1271875169584301/





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Published at 3:56 am on March 15, 2017

#WNCscan #MaconWx #MaconSafety