News and Weather Briefing for Monday, July 19, 2021

Here is an index to assist you in moving from section to section within the article.

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Local News
Weather
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Almanac
Macon Calendar
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
On This Day
Support Macon Media

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OUTLOOK

An upper-level troough of low pressure will remain just west of the southern Appalachians today through Tuesday, while a weak stationary front remains stalled over the region. The trough will finally move southeast of the area on Wednesday. Until then, increased clouds and precipitation chances will keep high temperatures below normal. Somewhat drier air arrives from the north on Thursday and temperatures rebound to near-normal or slightly above.


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Local News

Macon County Board of Commissioners, July 2021



Supporting documents can be found at [MaconMedia.com]

Franklin Town Council - July 2021



Supporting documents posted online at [MaconMedia.com]

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Local Weather

National Weather Map for Today

General forecast through Wednesday Night


Franklin area

Today

Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 5pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Patchy fog before 10am. Highs in the mid-to-upper 70s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight

Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 11pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 11pm. Patchy fog before 2am, then patchy fog after 4am. Lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tuesday

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 11am, then showers between 11am and 1pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Patchy fog before midmorning. Highs in the mid-70s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Tuesday Night

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the lower 60s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 70%.

Wednesday

A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with highs near 80. Chance of rain is 50%.

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 60s.

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Highlands Plateau

Today

Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 5pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog before 10am. Highs near 70. Light and variable winds. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three-quarters of an inch possible.

Tonight

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 8pm, then showers and thunderstorms likely between 8pm and 11pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 11pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog after 10pm. Lows around 60. Light and variable winds. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three-quarters of an inch possible.

Tuesday

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 9am, then showers between 9am and noon, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. Highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. Winds out of the east 3 to 5 mph. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Tuesday Night

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 60. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 70%.

Wednesday

A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the low-to-mid 70s. Chance of rain is 50%.

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy, with lows around 60.

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Otto area

Today

Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 5pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Patchy fog before 10am. Highs in the mid-70s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 7pm, then showers and thunderstorms likely between 7pm and 11pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 11pm. Patchy fog before 3am, then patchy fog after 4am. Lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Tuesday

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 10am, then showers between 10am and noon, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. Highs in the mid-70s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Tuesday Night

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 60s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 70%.

Wednesday

A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 11am. Partly sunny, with highs near 80. Chance of rain is 50%.

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.

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Nantahala area

Today

Showers and thunderstorms likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Highs in the mid-70s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 8pm, then showers and thunderstorms likely between 8pm and 11pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 11pm. Patchy fog before 2am, then patchy fog after 3am. Low in the mid-60s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tuesday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Highs near 70. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Tuesday Night

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the lower 60s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 60%.

Wednesday

A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 10am. Partly sunny, with highs in the upper 70s. Chance of rain is 50%.

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.

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Hazards and Tropical Weather

Continued high coverage of heavy rain-producing showers and thunderstorms will persist today and Tuesday. The isolated flash flooding threat will gradually increase as earlier storms saturate the ground and raise stream levels, setting the stage for possible flooding with any later storms that move over the same areas.

TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK

Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Mon Jul 19 2021

For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.

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Almanac

Air Quality

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

Fire and Smoke Map
(There are no significant sources of smoke in the region as of 3am on 04-22-2021.)

Pollen

Pollen levels are expected to be in the low range (0.5 out of 12) today with Grasses, Plantain, and Chenopods being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the low range (0.5 out of 12).


Weather Extremes for Macon County on July 16th


Highest Temperature 97°F in Franklin in 1986
Lowest Temperature 47°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 2009
Greatest Rainfall 3.79 inches in Highlands in 1959
Greatest Snowfall (No snowfall recorded on this date since records started being kept in 1872)

July Weather Extremes for Macon County

Highest Temperature 101°F in Franklin on 07-29-1952
Lowest Temperature 34°F in Highlands on 07-27-1911
Greatest Rainfall 21.15 inches in Highlands on 07-29-1879
Greatest Snowfall no measurable snowfall has been recorded since records started being kept in 1872

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Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)

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Katie Dean announces Macon Co. Townhall

Katie Dean is running for Congress in North Carolina’s 11th District. Katie is holding a Townhall on Thursday, July 15, 6pm – 7pm at the Big Bear Shelter [E. Main St. and Little Tennessee River].

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The Macon County Art Association (a not for profit member organization) is offering classes in encaustic painting on Specified Fridays from 10AM-12PM at the Uptown Gallery 30 E Main St Franklin NC. Specific class dates are Friday July 9 and 23, August 3 and 27, September 3 and 17, October 29.

For more information contact the instructor, Karen Smith, at karen@programservices.org

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National News Roundup

(CBS Sunday Morning) What the megadrought means to the American West



Facebook fires back at Surgeon General. Hear his response (July 18th, 2021



Private Israeli spyware used to hack cellphones of journalists, activists worldwide [LINKTEXT]

Invisible surveillance: How spyware is secretly hacking smartphones (WaPo) (July 18th, 2021)





NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) - July 18th, 2021



PBS NewsHour full episode, July 18th, 2021

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COVID-19 News and Updates

Since it looks like we may be in for a fourth wave, here is a section on COVID-19. It will include local, regional, state, national, and global items.

b>Dr John Campbell: Saturday update (07-17-2021)



TWiV 781: My genome is left to tell the tale



Long COVID Treatment, Symptoms, and Recovery (Long Haulers)

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On This Day

July 19th is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 165 days remain until the end of the year.



Historical Events

(Please note that the Wikipedia articles often contain a bibliography and links to where you can learn more about a historical event)




AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
• [Wikipedia: Great Fire of Rome/a>]
• [Rome is Burning - Anthony Barrett] (dramatization)
• [Nero | Ancient Rome: The Rise And Fall Of An Empire | BBC Documentary]
• [Nero: Rome’s Antichrist]

484 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital.

532 - Start of Dionysian Paschal Cycle.
• [Encyclopaedia Britannica: Dionysian period]
• [Wikipedia Bio: Dionysius Exiguus]

711 – Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by King Roderic.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Guadalete]
• [Wikipedia: Umayyad conquest of Hispania]
• [Great Battles of the Reconquista - Guadalete 711] (the title is wrong, this is part of the Muslim Conquest of Hispania)
• [The Battle of Guadalete 711 AD]
• [Campaigns: Tariq b. Ziyad in Spain (711)]
• [The Arab Conquest of Spain - full documentary]

939 – Battle of Simancas: King Ramiro II of León defeats the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III near the city of Simancas.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Simancas]

998 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Battle of Apamea: Fatimids defeat a Byzantine army near Apamea.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Apamea]
• [Wikipedia: Arab–Byzantine wars]
• [Wikipedia: Early Muslim conquests]

1333 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Halidon Hill: The English win a decisive victory over the Scots.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Halidon Hill]
• [Wikipedia: Wars of Scottish Independence]
• [The Battle of Halidon Hill 1333 AD - By Ian Mortimer]
• [HUNDRED YEARS' WAR: Battle of Halidon Hill]

1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: The first Siege of Boulogne begins.
• [Wikipedia: Sieges of Boulogne (1544–1546)]
• [Wikipedia: Italian War of 1542–1546]

1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology.
• [Wikipedia: Mary Rose]
• [Official Website]
• [The Ghost Ship Of Henry VIII | Mary Rose | Timeline]
• [Pearl Divers and the Salvage of the Mary Rose]
• [Mystery of the Great Mary Rose : Documentary on the Mysterious Sinking of the Mary Rose]
• [HD Skeletons of the Mary Rose The New Evidence (2019)]

1553 – The attempt to install Lady Jane Grey as Queen of England collapses after only nine days.

1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is sighted in the English Channel.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Gravelines]
• [Wikipedia: Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)]
• [panish Armada & Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604)]

1595 - Astronomer Johannes Kepler has an epiphany and develops his theory of the geometrical basis of the universe while teaching in Graz.
• [APS Physics: Kepler’s Insight Leading to Mysterium Cosmographicum]
• [Wikipedia: Mysterium Cosmographicum]
• [DING: Mysterium Cosmographicum]
• [Wikipedia Bio: Johannes Kepler]
• [BBC Radio (In Our Time): Johannes Kepler]
• [The Day The Universe Changed: Infinitely Reasonable: Science Revises the Heavens]

1701 – Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England.
• [Wikipedia: Nanfan Treaty]
• [Wikipedia: Iroquois]

1702 – Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish-Saxon army of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive position, is defeated by a Swedish army half its size under the command of King Charles XII in the Battle of Klissow.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Kliszów]
• [The Battle of Kliszów (1702) | Total War Cinematic Documentary]
• [Wikipedia: Great northern War]

1817 – Unsuccessful in his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaii for the Russian-American Company, Georg Anton Schäffer is forced to admit defeat and leave Kauai.

1821 – Coronation of George IV of the United Kingdom.

1832 – The British Medical Association is founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary.

1843 – Brunel's steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull and screw propeller, becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world.
• [Wikipedia: SS Great Britain]
• [Wikipedia Bio: Isambard Kingdom Brunel]
• [Bristol - SS Great Britain - walk tour inside the famous iron steamship]
• [The "Great Britain" project - Documentary]
• [50 years back in Bristol | ITV News]

1845 – Great New York City Fire of 1845: The last great fire to affect Manhattan begins early in the morning and is subdued that afternoon. The fire kills four firefighters and 26 civilians and destroys 345 buildings.
• [Wikipedia: Great New York City Fire of 1845]

1848 – Women's rights: A two-day Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York.
• [Wikipedia: Seneca Falls Convention]
• [NPS" Declaration of Sentiments]
• [Division at Seneca Falls | The Vote | American Experience | PBS]

1863 – American Civil War: Morgan's Raid: At Buffington Island in Ohio, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's raid into the north is mostly thwarted when a large group of his men are captured while trying to escape across the Ohio River.
• [Wikipedia: Morgan's Raid]

1864 – Taiping Rebellion: Third Battle of Nanking: The Qing dynasty finally defeats the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
• [Wikipedia: Third Battle of Nanking]
• [The Deadliest Rebellion in the World - the Taiping Rebellion - Part 1]
• [Part 2]
• [BBC Radio 4: The Taiping Rebellion]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaWv5cE-_hM]

1870 – Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia.
• [Franco-Prussian War]
• [Franco Prussian War]
• [How Prussia Ended The French Empire: Franco-Prussian War | Animated History]

1880 - San Francisco Public Library starts lending books.

1900 – The first line of the Paris Métro opens for operation.

1903 – Maurice Garin wins the first Tour de France.

1916 – World War I: Battle of Fromelles: British and Australian troops attack German trenches as part of the Battle of the Somme.
• [Wikipedia: Attack at Fromelles]
• [Australia's Darkest Hour - The Battle of Fromelles I THE GREAT WAR - Week 104]
• [The Battle of Fromelles Commemoration Film]

1936 – Spanish Civil War: The CNT and UGT call a general strike in Spain - mobilizing workers' militias against the Nationalist forces.

1940 – World War II: Battle of Cape Spada: The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualties.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Cape Spada]

1940 - World War II: Adolf Hitler orders Great Britain to surrender.

1940 – World War II: First occasion in World War II that Adolf Hitler appoints field marshals due to military achievements.

1940 – World War II: Army order 112 forms the Intelligence Corps of the British Army.

1941 - World War I: British PM Winston Churchill launches his "V for Victory" campaign. BBC World Service begins playing V(ictory) ("...-" in Morse code) (opening of Ludwig van Beethoven's 5th symphony).
• [Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign]
• [Almanac: "V for Victory" sign]
• [Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Morse Code]
• [Darkest Hour (2017) - Up Your Bum Scene (3/10) | Movieclips] (Dramatization)
• [Where does 'V for Victory' come from?]
• [Defense Media Network: The ‘V for Victory’ Campaign]

1942 – World War II: The Second Happy Time of Hitler's submarines comes to an end, as the increasingly effective American convoy system compels them to return to the central Atlantic.

1942 - US première of Dmitri Shostakovich' 7th Symphony in NYC by the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini in a concert broadcast nationwide on NBC radio.
• [Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad" Toscanini / NBC Whole broadcast 1942, live, restored]
• [Wikipedia: Symphony No. 7 (Shostakovich)]
• [Music: Shostakovich Premiere] (Time Magazine)
• [New York Times Article]

1943 – World War II: Rome is heavily bombed by more than 500 Allied aircraft, inflicting thousands of casualties.

1947 – Prime Minister of the shadow Burmese government, Bogyoke Aung San and eight others are assassinated.

1947 – Korean politician Lyuh Woon-hyung is assassinated.

1952 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

1961 – Tunisia imposes a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte; the French would capture the entire town four days later.

1963 – Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 meters (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.

1964 – Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.

1969 – Chappaquiddick incident: U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashes his car into a tidal pond at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
• [Wikipedia: Chappaquiddick incident]
• [Ted Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick incident | Boston Globe]
• [eputy Sheriff's story differs from Ted Kennedy's at Chappaquiddick]

1969 - Apollo 11 goes into Moon orbit.
• [Apollo 11 in Real Time]
• [Apollo 11 Flight Log, July 18, 1969: Entering the Moon's Gravity]

1972 – Dhofar Rebellion: British SAS units help the Omani government against Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman rebels in the Battle of Mirbat.

1976 – Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.

1977 – The world's first Global Positioning System (GPS) signal was transmitted from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) and received at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 12:41 a.m. Eastern time (ET).

1979 – The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.

1979 – The oil tanker SS Atlantic Empress collides with another oil tanker, causing the largest ever ship-borne oil spill.

1980 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
• [Wilkipedia: 1980 Summer Olympics]
• [The XXII Moscow Olympic Summer Games. Opening Ceremony] (Full Video)
• [Olympics in Moscow, USSR. Last scene of the opening ceremony]

1981 – In a private meeting with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, French President François Mitterrand reveals the existence of the Farewell Dossier, a collection of documents showing the Soviet Union had been stealing American technological research and development.
• [Wikipedia: Farewell Dossier]
• [Wikipedia Bio: Vladimir Vetrov]
• [President Reagan is Stunned by the Scale of Soviet Espionage]
• [Soviet pipeline sabotage was 'Reagan's idea': security adviser Richard Allen] (English Subtitles)

1982 – In one of the first militant attacks by Hezbollah, David S. Dodge, president of the American University of Beirut, is kidnapped.

1983 – The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published.

1984 - Geraldine Ferraro (US Representative, New York), becomes the 1st US female major-party vice-presidential nominee, officially joining Walter Mondale's Democratic Party ticket.
• [Wikipedia Bio: Geraldine Ferraro]
• [Geraldine Ferraro's Full Speech at the 1984 Democratic Convention]
• [Wikipedia: 1984 Democratic National Convention]

1985 – The Val di Stava dam collapses killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy.

1989 – United Airlines Flight 232 crashes in Sioux City, Iowa killing 111.
• [Wikipedia: United Airlines Flight 232]
• [United Airlines Flight 232 Crash in Sioux City - KIRO-TV7 News (Seattle) - July 19, 1989]
• [The Impossible Landing - United Airlines Flight 232] (flight sim reconstruction)
• [Seconds From Disaster United Airlines Flight 232]

1992 – A car bomb kills Judge Paolo Borsellino and five members of his escort.

1997 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army resumes a ceasefire to end their 25-year paramilitary campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland.

2014 – Gunmen in Egypt's western desert province of New Valley Governorate attack a military checkpoint, killing at least 21 soldiers. Egypt reportedly declares a state of emergency on its border with Sudan.

2015 - World Health Organization puts world's Ebola death toll at 11,284.

2017 - US Senator John McCain diagnosed with brain cancer.

2020 - Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler criticizes federal policing of protesters in his city, calling it unconstitutional.

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Published at 4:45am on Monday, July 19, 2021

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