News and Weather Briefing for Wednesday, July 21, 2021

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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 trough of low pressure will move east of our area today. Somewhat drier air arrives from the north by Thursday and along with more sunshine. Temperatures will rebound to near-normal or even slightly above normal by late week.


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Local News

Final Beam Placed at New Angel Medical Center [LINK] 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 Friday Night


Franklin area

Today

A slight chance of showers after noon, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Areas of fog before 10am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain is 20%.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with lows around 60. Calm winds.

Thursday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 80s. Calm winds.

Thursday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9pm. Partly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 60s. Calm winds.

Friday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. Sunny, with highs in the upper 80s.

Friday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm. Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-60s.

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Highlands Plateau

Today

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly in the late afternoon. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 70s. Winds out of the northwest in the morning around 5 mph becoming light and variable by nooon. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with lows around 60. Calm winds.

Thursday

A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Sunny, with highs in the upper 70s. Light and variable winds. Chance of rain is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Thursday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Partly cloudy, with lows around 60. Calm winds.

Friday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Sunny, with highs near 80.

Friday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Mostly clear, with lows around 60.

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Otto area

Today

A slight chance of showers between noon and 2pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Areas of fog before 10am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. Light winds out of the northwest. Chance of rain is 20%.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with lows in the lower 60s. Calm winds.

Thursday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5pm. Sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. Calm winds.

Thursday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds.

Friday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. Sunny, with highs in the mid-80s.

Friday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm. Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-60s.

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Nantahala area

Today

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with highs near 80. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with lows around 60. Calm winds.

Thursday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Sunny, with highs in the lower 80s. Calm winds.

Thursday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9pm. Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds.

Friday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. Sunny, with highs in the lower 80s.

Friday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm. Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-60s.

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Hazards and Tropical Weather

Numerous showers will persist through the day, producing heavy rainfall throughout the day. A flash flooding threat will remain throughout the day as rain falls on saturated soils and raised stream levels already primed by last night`s rainfall.

TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK

Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Wed Jul 21 2021

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

1. A broad, non-tropical low pressure system is forecast to develop off the coast of the southeastern United States by late Friday or early Saturday. Environmental conditions are expected to be marginally conducive for some gradual development over the weekend while the system meanders offshore the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...low...20 percent.

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Almanac

Air Quality

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

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-medium range (2.5 out of 12) today with Grasses, Plantain, and Chenopods being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the low-medium range (3.4 out of 12).


Weather Extremes for Macon County on July 16th


Highest Temperature 96°F in Franklin in 1983
Lowest Temperature 42°F in Highlands in 1903
Greatest Rainfall 5.21 inches in Highlands in 1938
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

WeatherBrains 809: For God’s Sake Take Cover



Audio version and links to items discussed in podcast [LINKTEXT]

Replay: First Human Flight Pre-Launch Mission Briefing (July 18th, 2021



LIVE at 7am: Blue Origin Launches Jeff Bezos to Space on First Crewed New Shepard Mission



Replay - First Human Flight Post-Flight Press Conference Level1 News July 21 2021: Where The Sun Don't Shine ☀️





NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) - July 20th, 2021



PBS NewsHour full episode, July 20th, 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)



Coronavirus Update 127: Delta Variant and Vaccines



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

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On This Day

July 21st is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 163 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)


356 BC – Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
• [Wikipedia: Temple of Artemis]
• [Wikipedia Bio: Herostratus]
• [Exploring the remains of the Temple of Artemis ( 7th Wonder of the ancient World)]
• [Why was the Temple of Artemis one of the Wonders of the Ancient World?]
• [That Time a Guy Destroyed One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]

230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope.

285 – Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar and co-ruler.

365 – The 365 Crete earthquake affects the Greek island of Crete with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing a destructive tsunami that affects the coasts of Libya and Egypt, especially Alexandria. Many thousands were killed.
• [Wikipedia: 365 Crete earthquake]
• [The Tsunami of 365 // Ammianus Marcellinus // Roman Primary Source]
• [An Earthquake That Shook the World: Seismicity and Society in the Late Fourth Century CE]
• [Did the Universal Event Really Happen? | Earthquakes | BBC Studios]

905 – King Berengar I of Italy and a hired Hungarian army defeats the Frankish forces at Verona. King Louis III is captured and blinded for breaking his oath (see 902).[1]
• [Wikipedia Bio: Louis the

1242 – Battle of Taillebourg: Louis IX of France puts an end to the revolt of his vassals Henry III of England and Hugh X of Lusignan.

1403 – Battle of Shrewsbury: King Henry IV of England defeats rebels to the north of the county town of Shropshire, England.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Shrewsbury]
• [Bert's Battles: Battle of Shrewsbury 1403 AD]
• [Walks in Shropshire: Battle of Shrewsbury 1403]

1545 – The first landing of French troops on the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight.
• [Wikipedia: French invasion of the Isle of Wight]
• [July 21 - The Isle of Wight is attacked!]

1568 – Eighty Years' War: Battle of Jemmingen: Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Jemmingen]
• [Wikipedia: Eighty Years' War]
• [History With Hilbert: The Eighty Years' War]

1645 – Qing dynasty regent Dorgon issues an edict ordering all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue identical to those of the Manchus.

1656 – The Raid on Málaga takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
• [Wikipedia: Raid on Málaga (1656)]

1718 – The Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed.

1774 – Russo-Turkish War (1768–74): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ending the war.

1798 – French campaign in Egypt and Syria: Napoleon's forces defeat an Ottoman-Mamluk army near Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of the Pyramids]

1831 – Inauguration of Leopold I of Belgium, first king of the Belgians.

1861 – American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run: At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins and ends in a victory for the Confederate army.
• [Wikipedia: First Battle of Bull Run]
• [Civil War - "The First Battle Of Bull Run" 1861 - A Concise History]
• ["Manassas: End Of Innocence" 2002 Civil War NPS Museum Film]

1865 – In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first western showdown.
• [Hickok–Tutt shootout]
• [he Great Western Standoff: Wild Bill Vs. Davis Tutt]
• [Making the Hickok Tutt Shot]

1873 – At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.
• [Wikipedia Segment: First Successful Train Robbery West of the Mississippi] (text highlighted)
• [Jesse James First Train Robbery]
• [(1903) The Great Train Robbery: The First Western]

1877 – After rioting by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers and the deaths of nine rail workers at the hands of the Maryland militia, workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, stage a sympathy strike that is met with an assault by the state militia, killing 20 people and wounding 29. 20 more workers are killed the following day.
• [Wikipedia: Great Railroad Strike of 1877]
• [Railroad Strike 1877 | Eugene Debs | Socialist Party 1900s || US History Lecture 59]
• [The Great Strike of 1877: Railroads and Resistance]

1904 – Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, becomes the first man to break the 100 mph (161 km/h) barrier on land. He drove a 15-liter Gobron-Brillié in Ostend, Belgium.
• [July 21, 1904 & 1925: 2 Land Speed Record Milestones]

1907 – The passenger steamer SS Columbia sinks after colliding with the steam schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, killing 88 people.
• [Wikipedia: SS Columbia (1880)]

1919 – The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people.
• [Wikipedia: Wingfoot Air Express crash]
• [Did You Know: Wingfoot Air Express]

1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching human evolution in class and fined $100.
• [Wikipedia: Scopes Trial]
• [Innes Lecture 2020 - The 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial: why did so many people hate evolution?]
• [Inherit the Wind (1960) - The Sentence Is Delivered Scene (10/12) | Movieclips] (Inherit the Wind is a parable that fictionalizes the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a means to discuss McCarthyism.)
• [Wikipedia: Inherit the Wind (1960 film)]
• [1988 TV Adaptation]

1925 – Malcolm Campbell becomes the first man to exceed 150 mph (241 km/h) on land. At Pendine Sands in Wales, he drives Sunbeam 350HP built by Sunbeam at a two-way average speed of 150.33 mph (242 km/h).
• [July 21, 1904 & 1925: 2 Land Speed Record Milestones]

1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia is constituted, establishing an anarcho-syndicalist economy in Catalonia.
• [Wikipedia: Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia]

1944 – World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam, starting a battle that will end on August 10.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Guam (1944)]
• [WW II Guam & The Marianas - In Color]
• [1944 War Department Film Wwii Mariana Islands Campaign Pt 2: Liberation of Guam]

1944 – World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and four fellow conspirators are executed for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
• [The RUTHLESS Execution Of Claus Von Stauffenberg - The Plan To Kill Hitler]
• [Commemorating WWII hero Claus von Stauffenberg | DW News]
• [Claus von Stauffenberg - The Man behind Valkyrie Documentary]

1949 – The United States Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.

1952 – The 7.3 Mw  Kern County earthquake strikes Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds.

1954 – First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

1959 – NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" initiative.

1959 – Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green becomes the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate. He came in as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz and stayed in as shortstop in a 2–1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

1960 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike is elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, becoming the world's first female head of government

1961 – Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 4 Mission: Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 becomes the second American to go into space (in a suborbital mission).
• [Wikipedia: Mercury Redstone 4]
• [Mercury-Redstone 4 / Liberty-Bell 7 / Gus Grissom] (video playlist full mission coverage)
• [In Search of Liberty Bell 7 (9/10)]

1969 – Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon, followed 19 minutes later by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.
• [Restored Apollo 11 Moonwalk - Original NASA EVA Mission Video - Walking on the Moon]
• [First EVA on the Moon]
• [Apollo 11 Real-Time Mission Experience]

1970 – After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
• [Wikipedia: Aswan Dam]
• [History.com]

1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Friday: The Provisional IRA detonate 22 bombs in central Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom in the space of 80 minutes, killing nine and injuring 130.
• [Wikipedia: Bloody Friday (1972)]
• [BBC Northern Ireland Bloody Friday Documentary]
• [LINKTEXT]

1973 – In Lillehammer, Norway, Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre.

1976 – Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.

1977 – The start of the four-day-long Libyan–Egyptian War.
• [Wikipedia: Egyptian–Libyan War]
• [The four-day war between Egypt and Libya, (July 1977)]

1979 – Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk actor, becomes the first Native American to have a star commemorated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1983 – The world's lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).

1990 – Taiwan's military police forces mainland Chinese illegal immigrants into sealed holds of a fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5540 for repatriation to Fujian, causing 25 people to die from suffocation.

1995 – Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
• [Third Taiwan Strait Crisis]

2001 – At the conclusion of a fireworks display on Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan, 11 people are killed and more than 120 are injured when a pedestrian footbridge connecting the beach to JR Asagiri Station becomes overcrowded and people leaving the event fall down in a domino effect.
• [Wikipedia: Akashi pedestrian bridge accident]
• [Akashi fireworks incident] (English subtitles available)

2005 – July 2005 London bombings occur.
• [21 July 2005 London bombings]

2008 – Ram Baran Yadav is declared the first president of Nepal.

2011 – NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
• [Wikipedia: STS-135]
• [Atlantis's Final Landing at Kennedy Space Center]
• [The Last Space Shuttle Landing - Atlantis (STS-135)]

2012 – Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.

Stage 1 of the controversial filling of Blue Nile River dam announced completed by Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed.

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Published at 4:15am on Wednesday, July 21, 2021

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