Weather Briefing for Wednesday, March 17, 2021

OUTLOOK

Rain chances decrease overnight tonight as drier air filters in. Unsettled weather is expected Wednesday as precip chances ramp back up in the presence of a moist frontal zone crossing the area, which should bring a chance for convective activity Thursday. The forecast becomes more settled and cooler over the weekend and the early part of next week.


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National Weather Map for Today

General forecast through Friday Night


Franklin area

Today
( )


Scattered showers before 4pm, then scattered showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Areas of fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-60s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Tonight Occasional showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Patchy fog after 10pm. Lows in the mid-50s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three-quarters of an inch possible. Thursday Showers and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly before 3pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Patchy fog before 9am. Highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. WInds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph shifting to come out of the southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Thursday Night A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the lower 40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph. Friday A 20 percent chance of showers before 11am. Partly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 50s. Friday Night Partly cloudy, with lows around freezing.

Highlands area
( )


Today

Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 5pm. Areas of fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Tonight Occasional showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 9pm, then occasional showers between 9pm and 1am, then occasional showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog. Lows around 50. Winds out of the southeast wi5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. Thursday Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog before 9am. Highs in the upper 50s. Winds out of the south 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. Thursday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with lows around 40. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Friday A 20 percent chance of showers before noon. Partly sunny, with highs near 50. Friday Night Partly cloudy, with lows around 30

Otto area
( )


Today

Scattered showers, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Areas of fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs in the lower 60s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the south around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Tonight Occasional showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 8pm, then occasional showers between 8pm and 4am, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 4am. Patchy fog. Lows in the mid-50s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible. Thursday Showers and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly before 3pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Highs in the mid-60s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning increasing to come out of the southwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three-quarters of an inch possible. Thursday Night A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 3am. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph. Friday A 20 percent chance of showers before 10am. Partly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 50s. Friday Night Partly cloudy, with lows around freezing.

Nantahala area
( )


Today

Showers likely, mainly after 4pm. Areas of fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-60s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Tonight Occasional showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog after 10pm. Lows in the mid-50s. Winds out of the south 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible. Thursday Showers and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly before 3pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog before 9am. High in the mid-60s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Thursday Night A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 5am. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph. Friday A 20 percent chance of showers before 11am. Partly sunny, with highs in the lower 50s. Friday Night Partly cloudy, with lows around freezing.



HAZARDS

Hazardous weather is not expected today.

A round of locally heavy showers, embedded thunderstorms and perhaps damaging wind gusts are expected on Thursday.





Air Quality

Air quality is in the upper range of geen for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the upper range of green.

Pollen

Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium-high range (9.0 out of 12) today with Elm, Maple, and Juniper being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the low range (1.0 out of 12).


Weather Extremes for Macon County on March 17th


Highest Temperature 83°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1945
Lowest Temperature 11°F in Highlands in 1895
Greatest One-Day Rain 3.32 inches in Nantahala in 1973
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 10.0 inches in Nantahala in 1936

March Weather Extremes for Macon County

Highest Temperature 86°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on March 15, 1967
Lowest Temperature -7°F in Highlands on March 7, 1899
Greatest One-Day Rain 6.43 inches in Highlands on March 29, 1898
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 25.5 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on March 13, 1993 

On This Day Historical Events 432 Saint Patrick, aged about 16 is captured by Irish pirates from his home in Great Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland (traditional date) 1521 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines 1861 Italy is unified into a single kingdom under Victor Emmanuel II following the campaigns led by Giuseppe Garibaldi 1905 Albert Einstein finishes his scientific paper detailing his Quantum Theory of Light, one of the foundations of modern physics 1939 Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and the Japanese breaks out (Sino-Japanese War 1937-1945) 1942 Bełżec Concentration Camp opens with the transport of 30,000 Lublin Polish Jews CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES


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Published at 3:30am on Wednesday, March 17, 2021