Daily Weather Briefing for Friday, March 17, 2017

NATIONAL OVERVIEW

...Heavy snow possible over the Northern Cascades...

...Snow possible from the Upper Mississippi valley to parts of the Northern Mid-Atlantic and Northeast...

Snow... possibly with pockets of mixed precipitation... is forecast from the Upper Mississippi valley/Great Lakes region to the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast as a surface low pressure system tracks across the central U.S this weekend. Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will stream into the Southern Plains and pool along the advancing front. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop along and ahead of the boundary as it passes through the Midwest/Mississippi valley into the Ohio/Tennessee valley/Appalachians. High pressure will slide into the Northern and Central Plains as the system continues to track toward the East Coast.

An upper-level trough will move inland over the Pacific Northwest today ushering in a plume of moisture to the Pacific Northwest. Coastal/valley rain and higher elevation snow over parts of the Pacific Northwest and eastward into parts of the Northern Rockies will continue over the next few days. Portions of the Cascades may observe heavy snowfall this weekend. Numerous flood watches and warnings are in effect across portions of the Great Basin and the Intermountain West.


LOCAL OUTLOOK

Cold high pressure will drift off the East Coast today, allowing temperatures to rebound over the weekend. A cold front will pass through the area on Saturday, followed by dry high pressure that will persist into early next week.

Weather Almanac for March 17th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 83°F in at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1945
Lowest Temperature 11°F in Highlands in 1895
Greatest Rainfall 3.32 inches in Nantahala in 1973
Greatest Snowfall 10.0 inches in Nantahala in 1936

The highest temperature recorded in Macon County in the month of March was 86°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on March 15, 1967.


THREE DAY OUTLOOK




TODAY (Outdoor burning is not recommended )

Partly sunny with highs near the mid to upper 50s. Winds will start the day calm, then shift to come from the south in the afternoon.


TONIGHT

Cloudy with lows near the lower 40s and winds out of the east. Fog is expected to develop around 5 am. Rain chances will increase from 20% at 6 pm to 60% around 6 am with rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch expected.



SATURDAY

Patchy fog in the morning. Cloudy with temperatures starting off in the lower 40s and clearing skies. Highs in the low to mid 60s. Winds will start out from the east 5 to 15 mph, shifting to come from the northwest and gusting to between 20 and 35 mph. A high wind field is expected to cross the county in the afternoon between 2 pm and 6 pm. 60% chance of rain, mainly before 10 am with rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch expected. Relative humidity levels are expected to drop below 30% in the afternoon.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Mostly clear with lows near 30 and winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.



SUNDAY

Sunny with highs near the mid to upper 50s.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Clear with lows near freezing.


HAZARDS

Hazardous Weather is not expected today.


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 4:27 am on March 17, 2017

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