Weather Briefing for Sunday, October 18, 2020

OUTLOOK

A high pressure moves off the mid-Atlantic coast today and tomorrow. The high will bring a general southerly wind flow over our area early in the week with temperatures warming to a little above normal. A strong cold front will approach our region at the end of the week.








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General forecast through Tuesday night


Today

Patchy fog in the morning. Areas of frost before 10am. Otherwise, sunny, with highs ranging from the upper 50s in the higher elevations to the upper 60s in the lower elevations. Calm winds.

Sunday Night
Patchy fog in the morning. Otherwise, mostly clear, with lows ranging from the upper 30s in the higher elevations and the mid-40s in the lower elevations. Calm winds.

Monday
Patchy fog in the morning. Otherwise, sunny, with highs ranging from the mid-to-upper 60s in the higher elevations to the mid-70s in the lower elevations. Calm winds.

Monday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the 40s with a few locations in the lower elevations remainging near 50 in the lower elevations. Calm winds.

Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with highs ranging from the upper 60s in the higher elevations to the mid-70s in the lower elevations.

Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows ranging from the mid-to-upper 40s in the higher elevations to the mid-50s in the lower elevations.



News Brief
(repeat from Saturday)

Macon County Public Health Identifies a COVID-19 Cluster in a Local Church [LINK]

Macon County Public Health has identified a COVID-19 cluster of positive cases in an area church located in Franklin. NC DPH defines clusters of COVID-19 in workplace, educational, and other community settings as:

• A minimum of 5 cases with illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14-day period AND • Plausible linkage between cases;

where cases were present in the same setting during the same time-period (e.g., same shift, same classroom, same physical work area); that the timing fits with likely timing of exposure; and that there is no other more likely source of exposure for identified cases (e.g., household or close contact to a confirmed case in another setting).

Members of Franklin Church of God's congregation have tested positive; all members of the congregation are aware of their exposure, and are currently being contacted for testing. Members of the congregation are encouraged to quarantine if they experience symptoms; those who test positive will be given isolation orders. In addition, church leadership has been provided disinfection guidance. MCPH is working to identify additional close contacts of these individuals. The CDC defines close contact as being within approximately 6 feet of a person with an infection with COVID-19 case for a prolonged period of time of 10 minutes or longer. Based on information provided by the individual, county health officials will assess risks of exposure, determine which if any additional measures are needed such as temperature and symptom checks, quarantine and/or testing.

The entire state of North Carolina is under a "Safer at Home" executive order, currently under phase 3 with masks required to be worn when social distancing cannot be maintained. Older adults and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions might be at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19; however, anyone of any age can become infected with this illness. Therefore, we ask that community members strictly follow the governor's orders and continue to practice social distancing, as well as safe hygiene measures such as hand washing and frequently cleaning touched objects and surfaces. The public can monitor the different phases of re-opening and learn more about the restrictions at https://covid19.ncdhhs.qov/quidance.

It is important to make sure the information you are getting about COVID-19 is coming directly from reliable sources. For more information, please visit the CDC's website at www.cdc.ciov/coronavirus and NCDHHS.

The NC State Board of Election reminds us that voter intimidation is against the law [LINK] 



Here are the latest COVID-19 Numbers and Demographics Report from Macon Public Health, along with a chart to show you the long-term trends since May 30, 2020, when the health department started releasing numbers to the public.

The health department has stopped releasing numbers over the weekend, so the next new report on local numbers will be Monday afternoon.

Cases

709 Detected
(+3 from Thursday and +29 from last Friday and +115 in four weeks)

26 Active
(-6 from Thursday and -8 from last Friday and -1 in four weeks)

676 Recovered
(+9 from Thursday and +37 from last Friday and +116 in four weeks)

7 Deaths
(unchanged from Thursday and unchanged from last Friday and unchanged in four weeks)

Testing

6094 by MCPH
(+74 from Thursday and +174 from last Friday and +716 in four weeks)

2448 by others
(unchanged from Thursday and +115 from last Friday and +411 in four weeks)

8542 in total
(+74 from Thursday and +289 from last Friday and +1127in four weeks)

168 tests pending results
(+75 from Thursday and +38 from last Friday and +80 in four weeks)

HAZARDS

We are under A Freeze Advisory this morning until 9am. Other than that, no weather hazards are anticipated for today.

Air Quality

Air quality is in the middle range of green today for all elevations.

Pollen

Pollen levels are expected to be low-medium (2.8 out of 12) with ragweed, chenopods, and grasses being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to drop into the low range (2.1 out of 12).


Weather Extremes for Macon County for October 18th

Highest Temperature 83°F in Franklin in 1984
Lowest Temperature 23°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1943
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 7.00 inches in Franklins in 1879 Greatest One-Day Snowfall (no snowfall has been recorded on this date since records began in 1872