An active weather pattern is expected over the next week. A passing upper level disturbance will support high elevation snow showers across the mountains today and this evening. Dry high pressure returns Wednesday, but a strong storm system will likely arrive from the west Thursday night and pass off the southeast coast Friday. Wintry weather will be possible with this system, particularly over the mountains and foothills. High pressure should return for the balance of the weekend, but yet another storm system is lurking for early next week.
A winter weather event is in the forecast and computer models are still not in agreement. Some are showing only a trace amount for the Franklin area and up to ten inches on one model. The storm will have a mix of rain, sleet and snow in the lower elevations, so Macon Media is expecting the lower end of the range as of 5am today. Be careful of the wild snowfall maps you will be seeing on social media. Most of them are just one computer run out of dozens and are only being shared for shock value, to gain followers and likes on their social media pages. The truth is, no really knows how much we'll get, and these clown maps almost never come to pass. The only local and regional meteorologist that publishes snowfall maps Macon Media trusts is Local Yokel Weather. [LINK] He doesn't get carried away and has a steady hand. News Highlights
• Franklin Town Council Meeting for January 2021 [LINK]
COVID-19 Patients Transfered Between Hospitals (WLOS-TV)
In Lenoir, Samaritan’s Purse is setting up a field hospital for COVID-19 patients who do not need ventilators.
At this time the field hospital will be accepting patients from:
• Caldwell UNC Health Care in Lenoir
• Appalachian Regional Healthcare in Boone
• Catawba Valley Health System in Hickory
• Carolina Healthcare System Blue Ridge in Morganton
• Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory
Read more at [WLOS-TV]
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General forecast through Thursday night
Franklin area
Today
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before noon. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-40s. Light winds out of the northwest increasing to 5 to 10 mph by midmorning. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-20s. Winds out of the northwest5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with highs near 50. Light winds out of the north.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with lows around 30. Calm winds.
Thursday
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-40s.
Thursday Night
A chance of rain showers before 9pm, then rain and snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with lows around freezing. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Highlands area
Today
A slight chance of rain and snow through midmorning, then turning to all rain before noon. Patchy fog could linger until noon. Otherwise, partly sunny, with highs in the upper 30s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-20s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday
Partly sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning becoming calm in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-20s6. Light winds out of the north.
Thursday
A chance of rain and snow, mainly after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-to-upper 30s. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Thursday Night
Snow likely, mainly after 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 30. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Otto area
Today
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before noonm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday
Partly sunny, with highs near 50. Calm winds.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with lows around 30. Calm winds.
Thursday
A 40 percent chance of rain, mainly after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-40s.
Thursday Night
Rain likely before 9pm, then rain and snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-30s. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Nantahala area
Today
A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly before noon. Patchy fog could linger until noon. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs in the lower 40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-40s. Calm winds.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with lows around 30. Calm winds.
Thursday
A 40 percent chance of rain, mainly after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the lower 40s.
Thursday Night
Rain likely before 10pm, then rain and snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-30s. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
HAZARDS
Hazardous weather is not expected today for most of the county. The roads in the higher elevations could be slick after some light snowfall overnight and some light snow is possible in those locations and on the Highlands Plateau until about noon today.
A strong low pressure system may cross the area Thursday through Friday. Cold temperatures across the mountains and the I-40 corridor east toward the Triad may interact with moisture from this system to produce accumulating snowfall, especially across higher mountain elevations. Uncertainty is fairly high with this system, but there is the potential for a significant impact across the mountains from this storm. Continue to monitor the latest forecasts throughout the week.
Right now, it is looking like we may get an inch or two on the Franklin area from late Thursday into early Friday. The computer models vary between no snow and 10 inches. There will be a rain, sleet, and snow mix...so Macon Media is not expecting the models that show higher accumulations to be accurate for the lower elevations. Be careful about viral snowfall maps you see on social media as those almost never come to pass and are just shared for shock value and to gain more followers and like on their pages.
COVID-19 Briefing
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. Cases 1775 Detected (+311 from last Monday and +668 in four weeks) 541 Active (+188 from last Monday and +418 in four weeks) 1222 Recovered (+120 from last Monday and +247 in four weeks) 12 Deaths (+3 from last Monday and +3 in four weeks) Testing 7914 by MCPH (+185 from last Monday and +385 in four weeks) 5178 by Others (+264 from last Monday and +673 in four weeks) 13092 total (+449 from last Monday and 1058 in four weeks) 153 tests pending results (+73 from last Monday and -131 in four weeks)
Air Quality
Air quality is in the upper range of green today for all elevations.
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be low (1.2 out of 12) with Mixed Trace being the main culprit. Tomorrow is expected to be the same (1.2 out of 12).
Weather Extremes for Macon County for January 5th
Highest Temperature 74°F in Franklin in 1955
lowest Temperature -6°F in Highlands in 1920
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 4.28 inches in Highlands in 1949
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 2.5 inches in Nantahalas in 1940
Weather Extremes for Macon County for the Month of January
Highest Temperature 78°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1999
lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands in 1985
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 5.10 inches in Highlands in 2018
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 14.0 inches in Franklin in 1877
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 5:00am on Tuesday, January 5, 2020
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