A very strong cold front will cross the region from the west today through this evening, accompanied by abundant moisture and followed by rapidly cooling air. The front will move off the Eastern Seaboard on Christmas Day, with the very cold air continuing to settle across the region in in its wake. Dry high pressure builds in and persists over the weekend, with another cold front arriving early next week.
Above the Fold
Why NORAD Tracks Santa [LINK]
NCDOT to Halt Road Construction for the Holidays [LINK]
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General forecast through Friday night
Franklin area
Today
Showers. The rain could be heavy at times. Patchy fog between 4pm and 5pm. Highs in the low-to-mid 50s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning shifting to come out of the southwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.
Christmas Eve
Rain likely, possibly mixed with snow showers before 7pm, then a chance of snow showers between 7pm and 4am. Patchy fog before 7pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper teens. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Christmas Day
Partly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 20s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Christmas Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the lower teens. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Saturday
Sunny, with highs in the upper 40s.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 20s.
Highlands area
Today
Showers. The rain could be heavy at times. Patchy fog. Highs in the upper 40s8. Winds outm of the south 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 353 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between 2 and 3 inches possible.
Christmas Eve
Snow showers likely, mainly before 2am. Patchy fog before 9pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with loes in the low-to-mid teens. Wind chill values as low as -5. Winds out of the northwest 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Christmas Day
Partly sunny, with a high near 20. Wind chill values as low as -5. Winds out of the northwest 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Christmas Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 10. Wind chill values as low as -10. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Saturday
Sunny, with highs near 40.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-20s.
Otto area
Today
Showers. The rain could be heavy at times. Patchy fog before 5pm. Highs in the lower 50s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 15 mph bin the morning shifting to come out of the southwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.
Christmas Eve
Rain likely, possibly mixed with snow showers before 7pm, then a chance of snow showers. Patchy fog before 7pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with lows around 20. Wind chill values dipping below zero at times. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Christmas Day
Partly sunny, with highs in the mid-20s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Christmas Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-teens. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday
Sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 40s.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-20s.
Nantahala area
Today
Rain showers before 5pm, then rain and snow showers. The rain could be heavy at times. Patchy fog after 7am. Temperature rising to near 50 by 10am, then falling to the mid-30s during the remainder of the day. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 15 mph in the morning shifting to come out of the west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Christmas Eve
Snow showers likely, mainly before 2am. Patchy fog before 7pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper teens. Wind chills below zero at times. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Christmas Day
A 20 percent chance of snow showers before 8am. Partly sunny, with highs in the lower 20s. Winds out of the west 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Christmas Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the lower teens. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph becoming calm after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Saturday
Sunny, with highs near 40
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-20s.
HAZARDS
The following graphic is what the National Weather Weather Service thinks the region could see from the incoming winter weather event later tonight and early tomorrow. Most of the heavier snow will be near the Tennessee border and in the higher elevations in Macon County.
A cold front will bring moderate to heavy rain across the county today. Localized flooding is possible with a higher chance across southern facing slopes... A wind advisory will be in effect for location above 3500 feet today until noon and a winer weather advisory will be in effect from 4pm today to 6am Christmas Day. Details are posted below.
Wind Advisory
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
337 AM EST Thu Dec 24 2020
...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON EST TODAY ABOVE 3500 FEET...
* WHAT...South winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts of 40 to 50 mph at times.
* WHERE...Most of the mountains of western North Carolina at elevations of 3500 feet and higher.
* WHEN...Until noon EST Thursday.
* IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.
Winter Weather Advisory
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
1043 PM EST Wed Dec 23 2020
...HEAVY SNOW EXPECTED THURSDAY EVENING OVER PARTS OF THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CAROLINA ALONG THE TENNESSEE BORDER...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THURSDAY TO 6 AM EST FRIDAY...
* WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of up to 3 inches, with the highest values at the high elevations of the Smokies.
* WHERE...Portions of western North Carolina, including most of the Smoky Mountains, Great Balsams, and Snowbird Mountains.
* WHEN...From 4 PM Thursday to 6 AM EST Friday.
* IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Temperatures will drop rapidly late Thursday afternoon below freezing, possibly resulting in a flash freeze of any remaining runoff of earlier rain on area roads. The snow will taper off toward the Tennessee border after midnight. Temperatures will drop low enough to raise concerns for dangerous wind chills by daybreak on Christmas Day.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Slow down and use caution while traveling.
Please report snow and ice accumulations by calling the National Weather Service toll free at...1...800...2 6 7...8 1 0 1. Leave a message with your observation and the specific location where it occurred. You can also post your report to National Weather Service Greenville Spartanburg Facebook or tweet your report using hashtag nwsgsp.
Stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio or your favorite source of weather information for the latest updates. Additional details can be found at www.weather.gov/gsp.
COVID-19 Briefing
The COVID-19 Briefing for this Tuesday is online. [LINK]
COVID-19 Hospitalizations (Data as of 12-23-2020)
4 at Angel Medical Center in Franklin
1 at Highlands-Cashiers Hospital in Highlands
116 at Memorial Mission in Asheville (134 in the Mission Hospital System)
3,043 Statewide
119,463 Nationwide
TWiV 697: The sky is NOT falling
(This podcast by Virologists has been added due to hype in the news media about new variants of SARS-CoV-2)
TWiV reviews the latest data on the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2, including some properties of the variant and why it is being closely studied, development of liver cancer in a participant in a adenovirus-associated virus gene therapy trial, and answers to listener questions.
Show notes at https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-697/]
Here are the latest COVID-19 Numbers and Demographics Report from Macon Public Health, along with a couple of charts by Macon Media to show you the long-term trends since April 17th.
Due to the upcoming Christmas holiday, Macon County Public Health will not be publishing its daily update on Thursday December 24th, Friday December 25th, or Monday December 28th. The daily report will resume on Tuesday, December 29th. Staff will continue to issue press releases or emergency guidance should that become necessary. Macon County Public Health would also like to note that Macon County is currently experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases and reminds individuals to consider the health and safety of others while celebrating the holiday by limiting celebrations to your immediate household and practicing the 3W’s: Wear, Wash, Wait.
Cases
1374 Detected
(+43 from Tuesday and +228 from last Wednesday and +447 in four weeks)
281 Active
(+26 from Tuesday and +134 from last Wednesday and +230 in four weeks)
1084 Recovered
(+17 from Tuesday and +94 from last Wednesday and +217 in four weeks)
9 Deaths
(unchanged from Tuesday and unchanged from last Wednesday and unchanged in four weeks)
Testing
7729 by MCPH
(unchanged from Tuesday and +113 from last Wednesday and +846 in four weeks)
1914 by Others
(+49 from Tuesday and +409 from last Wednesday and +1149 in four weeks)
12643 total
(+49 from Tuesday and +522 from last Wednesday and +1995 in four weeks)
80 tests pending results
(unchanged from Tuesday and -1459 from last Wednesday and +36 in four weeks)
Air Quality
Air quality is in the lower range of green today for all elevations.
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be low (0.3 out of 12) with a mixed trace of sources being the culprits. Tomorrow is expected to about the same (0.3 out of 12).
Weather Extremes for Macon County for December 24th
Highest Temperature 69°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1955
lowest Temperature -7°F in Highlands in 1983
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 5.70 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 2015
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 2.0 inches in Franklin in 1873
Weather Extremes for Macon County for the Month of December
Highest Temperature 78°F in Franklin in 1951
lowest Temperature -12°F in Highlands in 1917
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 6.00 inches in Highlands in 1901 Greatest One-Day Snowfall 12.0 inches in Franklin in 1876
TROPICAL WEATHER
(The North Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1st to Nov 30th)
The North Atlantic Hurricane Season is over for the year. If anything does develop, the information will be posted in this section of the weather briefing.
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Published at 4:00am on Thursday, December 24, 2020
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