Weather Briefing for Monday, October 19, 2020

OUTLOOK

High pressure will continue to weaken over the region, bringing about a general southerly wind flow over our area, with temperatures warming above normal by mid-week. Precipitation chances will increase toward the end of the week as a cold front approaches from the northwest.





DAY SPONSOR

Carrion Tree Service is underwriting Macon Media for today. they are a fully licensed and insured tree service, specializing in dangerous tree removal, view clearing, pruning, and crane services with a 24 Hour emergency response.

Their phone number is 371-4718.

They can handle all your tree removal needs in good or bad weather.



Weather Sponsor



Adams Products, a Division of Oldcastle is underwriting the daily weather briefing & public safety updates for the month.

Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC. Visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC/

All your masonry needs are available. Our phone number is 828.524.8545, the public is welcome, we’ll help you with your next project.


--- END SPONSOR SEGMENT---



General forecast through Wednesday night


Today

Areas of fog in the morningm. Patchy frost before 9am. Otherwise, cloudy through midmorning, then gradual clearing, with highs ranging from the mid-60s in the higher elevations to the lower 70s in the lower elevations. Calm winds.

Monday Night
Mostly clear, with lows ranging from the lower 40s in the higher elevations to the upper 40s in the lower elevations. Calm winds.

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

Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with lows ranging from the mid-40s in the higher elevations to the mid-50s in the lower elevations. Calm winds. WednesdayMostly sunny, with highs ranging from the lower 70s in the higher elevations to the upper 70s in the lower elevations.

Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows ranging from the 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

Hazardous weather is not anticipated today.

Air Quality

Air quality is in the middle-to-upper 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 (2.5 out of 12).


Weather Extremes for Macon County for October 19th

Highest Temperature 83°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1984
Lowest Temperature 21°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1948
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 3.20 inches in Highlandss in 1916 Greatest One-Day Snowfall (no snowfall has been recorded on this date since records began in 1872