Daily Weather Briefing for Wednesday, June 21, 2017

LOCAL OUTLOOK

A remnant frontal boundary will linger over the area today, as Tropical Storm Cindy approaches the Louisiana coast. As Cindy lifts north into extreme western Louisiana, tropical moisture is expected to spread across the region Thursday and Friday. A cold front approaches the area Sunday and moves through the area early next week with drier weather to follow.

The summer solstice occurred at 12:24 am this morning. From now until the winter solstice, they days will be getting shorter. Learn more about the solstice at Stardate. [LINK]


WEATHER SPONSOR


Adams Products, a Division of Oldcastle is underwriting the daily weather briefing and public safety updates for the month.  They have all your masonry products (block, mortars, tools), plus feature Belgrade Pavers and Sakrete Products.  Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC.  

Visit their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC/

Their phone number is 828.524.8545, all are welcome, let them help you with your next project.  


Weather Almanac for June 21st (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 93°F in Franklin in 1953
Lowest Temperature 42°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1985
Greatest Rainfall 4.72 inches in Highlands in 1961



THREE DAY OUTLOOK




TODAY

Patchy fog before noon. Cloudy with highs near 80. Calm winds early, then from the southwest in the afternoon. 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms with a greater chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and an increasing chance of rain through the rest of the week.

TONIGHT

Patchy fog after midnight. Mostly cloudy with lows in the lower 60s and calm winds. 40% chance of rain.



THURSDAY

Cloudy with highs in the mid-70s. Calm winds early, then from the south in the afternoon. 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms with rainfall amounts between a quarter and a half an inch expected. More is possible at locations that see multiple thunderstorms or heavy bands of rain. The amount and frequency of the rain and thunderstorms are highly dependent on the path taken by the remnants of Tropical Storm CINDY.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Cloudy with lows in the mid-60s and light winds out of the south. 70% chance of rain with thunderstorms likely through the night.



FRIDAY

Cloudy with highs near 80. 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms. The amount and frequency of the rain and thunderstorms are highly dependent on the path taken by the remnants of Tropical Storm CINDY.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the mid-60s. 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms. The amount and frequency of the rain and thunderstorms are highly dependent on the path taken by the remnants of Tropical Storm CINDY.


HAZARDS

No hazardous weather is expected today.

A tropical storm has developed in the Gulf of Mexico and has been given the name CINDY and it will be impacting our local weather by bringing increased chances of rain later this week or weekend. Please be weather aware and pay attention to forecasts if you live in a low-lying area where flooding may be a concern. More detailed forecasts will be available as the storm gets closer to our area so impacts can be better ascertained.

As always, you can check to see what advisories, watches, and warnings are in effect for Macon County by visiting http://is.gd/MACONWARN



TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK

Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Wed Jun 21 2017

For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Tropical Storm Cindy, located a couple of hundred miles south of the central Louisiana coast.

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.




TROPICAL STORM CINDY -- PUBLIC ADVISORY

BULLETIN
Tropical Storm Cindy Intermediate Advisory Number 6A
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL032017
100 AM CDT Wed Jun 21 2017

...HEAVY RAINFALL COULD PRODUCE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODING ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN GULF COAST...


SUMMARY OF 100 AM CDT...0600 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...26.8N 91.4W
ABOUT 200 MI...325 KM S OF MORGAN CITY LOUISIANA
ABOUT 270 MI...435 KM SE OF GALVESTON TEXAS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...60 MPH...95 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 310 DEGREES AT 7 MPH...11 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...997 MB...29.44 INCHES


WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

None.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for...
* San Luis Pass Texas to the Alabama-Florida border
* Metropolitan New Orleans
* Lake Pontchartrain

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case within the next 12 to 24 hours.

Interests elsewhere along the U.S. Gulf Coast from the central Texas coast to the western Florida Panhandle should monitor the progress of this system.

For storm information specific to your area, including possible inland watches and warnings, please monitor products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office.


DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
------------------------------
At 100 AM CDT (0600 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Cindy was located near latitude 26.8 North, longitude 91.4 West. Cindy is moving toward the northwest near 7 mph (11 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue today. A turn toward the north-northwest and then toward the north is expected tonight and early Thursday. On the forecast track, the center of Cindy will approach the coast of southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas late today or tonight, and move inland over southeastern Texas or southwestern Louisiana on Thursday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is expected today. Slight weakening is forecast to begin on Thursday.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 275 miles (445 km), mainly north through northeast of the center.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 997 mb (29.44 inches).


HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
RAINFALL: Cindy is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 6 to 9 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches over southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle through Thursday. This rainfall could cause life-threatening flash flooding in these areas.

Rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 6 inches can be expected farther west across southwest Louisiana into southeast Texas through Thursday.

WIND: Tropical storm conditions are beginning to spread across portions of the northern Gulf of Mexico coast over the eastern part of the warning area. These conditions should spread westward within the warning area through early Thursday.

STORM SURGE: Inundation of 1 to 3 feet above ground level is expected along the coast in portions of the Tropical Storm Warning area, with isolated areas possibly up to 4 feet.

TORNADOES: Isolated tornadoes are possible through today from southern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

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, except for groups or events that receive funding from the TDA, TDC, and EDC, where full rates apply.


National Alliance on Mental Illness
Appalachian South

Meets each Thursday at 7pm
The First Methodist Church Outreach Center
at the intersection of Harrison Ave. and West Main Street
(directly across from Lazy Hiker Brewery)

Come join our weekly support group for anyone suffering from mental illness and their family or friends. This includes Depression, Bipolar,8chizophrenia, PTSD, Substance Abuse, Etc.

Here you will find:
— others living with mental health challenges YOU ARE NOT ALONE
- learn coping skills and ?find hope in shared experience
- help learning how to break down stigma and guilt surrounding mental health
- how to live life with the expectation of a better a better future

Kay (706)970-9987 Denise (828)347-5000)

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 impacting 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: 5:50 am
Sunrise: 6:20 am
Sunset 8:51 pm
Twilight Ends: 9:21 pm


Moon Phase: Waning Crescent with 9% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

Moonrise 4:17 a.m.
Moonset 6:10 p.m.





Evening Events and Planets

Chart shows sky at 10:30 pm tonight




Morning Events and Planets

Chart shows sky at 4 am tomorrow morning



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

If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month.

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 4:59 am on June 21, 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.