Daily Weather Briefing for Friday, April 28, 2017

LOCAL OUTLOOK

Warm and humid high pressure will build in through today and tonight. A front will move into the area late this weekend, increasing chances for showers and thunderstorms on Sunday. Another front will approach by the middle of next week.

Weather Almanac for April 28th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 88°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1986
Lowest Temperature 23°F in Highlands in 1928
Greatest Rainfall 2.96 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1958
Greatest Snowfall 0.1 inches in Highlands in 1928


THREE DAY OUTLOOK

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TODAY dense fog early, high wind gusts in the afternoon

Dense fog in the morning. Mostly cloudy skies becoming partly sunny by noon. Highs in the lower 80s. Light winds out of the southeast early shifting to come out of the south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Wind gusts in the 20 mph range.

TONIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows near 60 and winds out of the south. Fog is expected to develop after 5 am.


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SATURDAY

Areas of fog in the morning. Mostly sunny with highs near the low to mid 80s. Light winds out of the south early, increasing to 5 to 10 mph by midmorning.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows near 60 and winds out of the south and southeast. 30% chance of showers, mainly before 4 am. Less than a tenth of an inch expected.


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SUNDAY

Partly sunny with highs near 80 winds 5 to 10 mph out of the south. 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows near 60. 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms.


HAZARDS

Dense fog is expected to develop this morning in the region and then wind gusts are in the forecast for the afternoon.

The National Weather Service has issued a Special Weather Statement regarding the development of dense fog this morning.

Please use your headlights this morning so other motorists can see you. You may want to decrease your speed and increase the distance you follow other vehicles a little so your reaction time is better if the motorist in front of you has to suddenly stop.


Here is the full statement from the National Weather Service:

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
240 AM EDT Fri Apr 28 2017

...PATCHY DENSE FOG DEVELOPING AROUND THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA EARLY THIS MORNING...

The combination of very moist air near the surface, drying and clearing aloft, and light winds is permitting areas of fog to develop around the region. The visibility within these areas of fog has been rather variable thus far this morning, but with patchy dense fog forming occasionally in some locations. Dense fog will be most likely through daybreak in the mountain river valleys, areas near bodies of water, and other low-lying locations.

The visibility may frequently vary between one quarter mile and about one mile, but could occasionally become one quarter mile or less at times. If driving this morning, be sure to allow extra travel time and use low beam headlights and fog lamps in case you suddenly encounter any areas of dense fog. The fog will slowly lift and scatter through the late morning hours.

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.

FRANKLIN BIRD CLUB EVENTS THIS WEEK



Friday, April 28

John and Cathy Sill will lead a bird walk in the Standing Indian area.

Meet at the Kmart parking lot (Westgate Plaza in Franklin) at 8:00 am to carpool up to Standing Indian with a few stops along the way. We should be back by noon. Sign up at 828-524-5234.uld flooding develop.

People's Climate Sister March WNC

MARCH DETAILS:
2pm - March begins at Big Bear Picnic Shelter, E. Main Street, Franklin. We will have speakers & music to kick off the event!
3pm - March through downtown Franklin begins. Route is approx. 1.5 miles (there is a big hill walking into town). If you are unable to walk the march we encourage you to join the rally at Big Bear shelter, then hold your signs at the town square where marchers will end.
March ends at the Gazebo on the Square in downtown Franklin. There will be community organizations with information tables until 5pm.

This is positive, family friendly event. Please bring signs, personal water bottles, and WEAR GREEN!

CARPOOLING is strongly encouraged. Parking is available at Big Bear and also at Mainspring, across the road. We will have signs posted.

Contact forwardfranklinnc@gmail.com for more information or visit the facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1290528817707288/

SYRINGE EXCHANGE PROGRAM

On January 1, 2017, the Syringe Exchange Program of Franklin began operating a comprehensive harm reduction program to address the opioid epidemic that is effecting western NC. Opioid overdose reversal kits including naloxone are available free of charge. If you have any questions about our services or if you know someone interested in volunteering, please contact Stephanie Almeida at 828-475-1920.



Astronomy

Twilight Begins: 6:18 am
Sunrise: 6:45 am
Sunset 8:17 pm
Twilight Ends: 8:44 pm


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Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent with 7% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
Moonrise 8:43 am
Moonset 10:57pm



Evening Events and Planets

Chart shows sky at 10:30 pm tonight

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Morning Events and Planets

Chart shows sky at 4 am tomorrow morning

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PLANET POSITION SUMMARY

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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.

Thank You to the people who have been sending in donations and those businesses who are underwriting coverage of news and events. You have kept Macon Media online. 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 4:58 am on April 28, 2017

#WNCscan #MaconWx #MaconSafety

Data and information sources: Sources (except where otherwise credited): heavens-above.com, Ian Webster's Github, 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.