Here is an index to assist you in moving from section to section within the article.
Back to Top
Local News
Weather
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Almanac
Macon Calendar
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
On This Day
Support Macon Media
OUTLOOK
Somewhat drier air arrives from the north today along
with more sunshine. Temperatures will rebound to near-normal or
even slightly above by late week. Afternoon and evening shower and
thunderstorm chances gradually increase again over the weekend.
CODE ORANGE Air Quality Alert 
...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT...
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Children, active people, older adults, and those with heart
or lung disease (like asthma): limit prolonged or heavy
exertion outdoors.
---BEGIN SPONSOR SEGMENT---
Weather Sponsor
Adams Products, a Division of Oldcastle is underwriting the daily weather briefing & public safety updates for the month.
Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC. Visit our Facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC
All your masonry needs are available. Our phone number is 828.524.8545, the public is welcome, we’ll help you with your next project.
DAY SPONSOR
Macon Media is being underwritten today by Franklin Health and Fitness, home of #ResultsForEveryone. Try FHF with a FREE 3-Day Guest Pass! To claim your pass, and to learn more about Franklin Health and Fitness, visit franklinhealthandfitness.com.
--- END SPONSOR SEGMENT---
Back to Top
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]
Back to Top
Local Weather
National Weather Map for Today
General forecast through Saturday Night
Franklin area
Today (Air Quality Alert)
A slight chance of showers in the early afternoon, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Widespread haze between 11am and 2pm. Areas of fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. Light winds out of the northwest. Chance of rain is 20%.
Tonight
Widespread haze. Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 60s. Calm winds.
Friday
A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 9am. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 80s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds.
Saturday
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 80s. Chance of rain is 20%.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.
Highlands Plateau
Today (Air Quality Alert)
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Widespread haze between 11am and 2pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with highs near 80. Calm winds.
Tonight
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows in the lower 60s. Calm winds.
Friday
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 9am. Mostly sunny, with highs near 80. Calm winds. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after midnight. Partly cloudy, with lows around 60. Calm winds.
Saturday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 70s.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows around 60.
Otto area
Today (Air Quality Alert)
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Widespread haze between 11am and 1pm. Areas of fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. Calm winds. TonightWidespread haze before 9pm. Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds.
Friday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10am. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 80s. Calm winds. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday Night
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm, then a slight chance of showers before midnight. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 20%.
Saturday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly in the early afternoon. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.
Nantahala area
Today (Air Quality Alert)
Widespread haze after 11am. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 80s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
Widespread haze before 9pm. Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with lows in the lower 60s. Light and variable winds.
Friday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 9am. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. Calm winds.
Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds.
Saturday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 80s.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.
Back to Top
Hazards and Tropical Weather
...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT...
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality in Raleigh NC has issued a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for Fine Particulates for Avery, Mitchell, Yancey, Madison, Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood, Jackson, Swain, Graham, Macon, Transylvania, Caldwell, Burke, McDowell, Rutherford, Polk, Alexander, Catawba, Iredell, Rowan, Cleveland, Lincoln, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, and Union Counties, until midnight EDT Thursday night.
An Air Quality Action Day means that Fine Particulates concentrations within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards.
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Thu Jul 22 2021
For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:
1. A broad trough of low pressure associated with a dissipated frontal system over Alabama and Georgia is forecast to move off of the southeastern United States coastline on Friday. Environmental conditions are expected to be marginally conducive for some gradual development over the weekend and into early next week while the system meanders offshore the coasts of Georgia and eastern Florida.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...low...30 percent.
Back to Top
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 is haze from the wildfires out on the west coast.)
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be in the low-medium range (3.5 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 97°F in Franklin in 1952
Lowest Temperature 46°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1947
Greatest Rainfall 2.24 inches in Highlands in 1979
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
Back to Top
Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)
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].
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
Back to Top
National News Roundup
WeatherBrains 809: For God’s Sake Take Cover
Audio version and links to items discussed in podcast [LINKTEXT]
Trump Blames 2020 Loss On Bad Judges And Indians Paid To Vote | MSNBC (July 21st, 2021
Pelosi Nixes GOP Reps Nominated For Jan. 6 Committee Who Would Back Trump (July 21st, 2021)
Replay - First Human Flight Post-Flight Press Conference VICE NEWS: Exposing Dirty Cops to the FBI | BETRAYING THE BADGE
NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) - July 21st, 2021
PBS NewsHour full episode, July 21st, 2021
Back to Top
COVID-19 News and Updates
Since it looks like we may be in for a new wave of infections, here is a section on COVID-19. It will include local, regional, state, national, and global items.
Dr John Campbell: US third wave (07-20-2021)
TWiV 782: An antibody for all sarbecoviruses
In this episode, broadening of immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 after mRNA vaccine booster to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, five-fold underestimation of the number of cases in the US during the first six months of the pandemic, and a monoclonal antibody that broadly neutralizes many different sarbecoviruses.
Show notes a [https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-782/]
Coronavirus Update 127: Delta Variant and Vaccines
Back to Top
On This Day
July 22nd is the 203rd day of the year (204th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 162 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)
838 – Battle of Anzen: The Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffers a heavy defeat by the Abbasids.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Anzen]
1099 – First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem.
1209 – Massacre at Béziers: The first major military action of the Albigensian Crusade.
• [Wikipedia: Massacre at Béziers]
• [The Albigensian Massacre | Episode 9 | Lineage]
• [Wikipedia: Albigensian Crusade]
• [The Albigensian Crusade - Full Documentary]
1298 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Falkirk: King Edward I of England and his longbowmen defeat William Wallace and his Scottish schiltrons outside the town of Falkirk.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Falkirk]
• [Battle of Falkirk 1298 - War of Scottish Independence]
• [The full story of the battle of Falkirk 1298]
1342 – St. Mary Magdalene's flood is the worst such event on record for central Europe.
• [Wikipedia: St. Mary Magdalene's flood]
1443 – Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl in the Old Zürich War.
• [Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl]
• [Wikipedia: Old Zürich War]
1456 – Ottoman wars in Europe: Siege of Belgrade: John Hunyadi, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, defeats Mehmet II of the Ottoman Empire.
• [Siege of Belgrade (1456)]
• [Ottoman wars in Europe]
• [John Hunyadi 4/4 - Siege of Belgrade 1456]
1484 – Battle of Lochmaben Fair: A 500-man raiding party led by Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany and James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas are defeated by Scots forces loyal to Albany's brother James III of Scotland; Douglas is captured.
• [Battle of Lochmaben Fair]
1499 – Battle of Dornach: The Swiss decisively defeat the army of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Dornach]
1587 – Roanoke Colony: A second group of English settlers arrives on Roanoke Island off North Carolina to re-establish the deserted colony.
• [Wikipedia: Roanoke Colony]
• [Roanoke Descendants Revealed by DNA Test | In Search Of (Season 2) | History]
• [WAVY-TV: Lost Colony of Roanoke found groundbreaking evidence released in new book]
1598 – William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, is entered on the Stationers’ Register. By decree of Queen Elizabeth, the Stationers’ Register licensed printed works, giving the Crown tight control over all published material.
• [Wikipedia: Stationers' Register/a>]
• [Wikipedia: The Merchant of Venice]
• [The Merchant of Venice: 6 Minute Summary]
1686 – Albany, New York is formally chartered as a municipality by Governor Thomas Dongan.
1706 – The Acts of Union 1707 are agreed upon by commissioners from the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which, when passed by each countries' Parliaments, led to the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
• [Wikipedia: Acts of Union 1707]
• [What Made Britain Unite? | The Union of the Crowns and the Acts of Union Explained]
1793 – Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean becoming the first recorded human to complete a transcontinental crossing of North America.
1796 – Surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company name an area in Ohio "Cleveland" after Gen. Moses Cleaveland, the superintendent of the surveying party.
1797 – Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Battle between Spanish and British naval forces during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Battle, Rear-Admiral Nelson is wounded in the arm and the arm had to be partially amputated.
• [Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797)]
• [Admiral Nelson & The Battle of Santa Cruz 1797]
1802 – Emperor Gia Long conquers Hanoi and unified Viet Nam, which had experienced centuries of feudal warfare.
• [Wikipedia Bio: Gia Long]
1805 – Napoleonic Wars: War of the Third Coalition: Battle of Cape Finisterre: An inconclusive naval action is fought between a combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve of Spain and a British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)]
• [History in Five: The War of the Third Coalition (1805)]
• [War of the Third Coalition]
1812 – Napoleonic Wars: Peninsular War: Battle of Salamanca: British forces led by Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) defeat French troops near Salamanca, Spain.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Salamanca]
• [Wellington Strikes: Salamanca 1812]
• [Wikipedia: Peninsular War]
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Atlanta: Outside Atlanta, Confederate General John Bell Hood leads an unsuccessful attack on Union troops under General William T. Sherman on Bald Hill.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Atlanta]
• [Civil War - The Battle For Atlanta Pt. 3 - JULY 22nd, 1864 "Hood vs. Sherman"]
• [When Georgia Howled: Sherman on the March]
• [Major Battles of the Civil War: The Atlanta Campaign]
1893 – Katharine Lee Bates writes "America the Beautiful" after admiring the view from the top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• [Wikipedia Bio: Katharine Lee Bates]
• [Wikipedia: America the Beautiful]
• [America the Beautiful - Katherine Bates, Samuel A. Ward]
1894 – The first ever motor race is held in France between the cities of Paris and Rouen. The fastest finisher was the Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, but the 'official' victory was awarded to Albert Lemaître driving his three-horsepower petrol engined Peugeot.
1916 – Preparedness Day Bombing: In San Francisco, a bomb explodes on Market Street during a parade, killing ten and injuring 40.
• [Wikipedia: Preparedness Day Bombing]
• [Jeff Johnson, San Francisco's 1916 Preparedness Day Bombing]
• [Tom Mooney & the Preparedness Day Bombing]
1921 – Rif War: The Spanish Army suffers its worst military defeat in modern times to the Berbers of the Rif region of Spanish Morocco.[2]
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Annual]
• [Wikipedia: Rif War]
• [Outbreak of the Rif War - Spanish Defeat at Annual I THE GREAT WAR 1921]
1933 – Aviator Wiley Post returns to Floyd Bennett Field in New York City, completing the first solo flight around the world in seven days, 18 hours and 49 minutes.
1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Popular Executive Committee of Valencia takes power in the Valencian Community.
• [Popular Executive Committee of Valencia]
• [Spanish Civil War]
1937 – New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.
• [Wikipedia: Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937]
• [Wikipedia: New Deal]
• [FDR's Supreme Court Packing Plan Explained - Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937]
• [Supreme Court Clips: Franklin Roosevelt's fireside chat about court packing plan]
• [Why Nine Justices? Court Packing's History and Future]
1942 – The United States government begins compulsory civilian gasoline rationing due to the wartime demands.
• [Wikipedia: Rationing]
• [Wikipedia: United States home front during World War II]
• [Rationing in the U.S. During World War II]
1942 – Grossaktion Warsaw: The systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto begins.
• [Grossaktion Warsaw]
1943 – World War II: Allied forces capture Palermo during the Allied invasion of Sicily.
• [Wikipedia: Allied invasion of Sicily]
• [Allies Capture Palermo - 1943 | Movietone Moment | 22 July 16]
1943 – World War II: Axis occupation forces violently disperse a massive protest in Athens, killing 22.
• [Wikipedia: 22 July 1943 Athens protest]
1944 – The Polish Committee of National Liberation publishes its manifesto, starting the period of Communist rule in Poland.
• [Wikipedia: Polish Committee of National Liberation]
• [Polish People's Republic]
1946 – King David Hotel bombing: A Zionist underground organisation, the Irgun, bombs the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, site of the civil administration and military headquarters for Mandatory Palestine, resulting in 91 deaths.
• [Wikipedia: King David Hotel bombing]
• [AP VIDEO: Kind David Hotel Blown Up]
1962 – Mariner program: Mariner 1 spacecraft flies erratically several minutes after launch and has to be destroyed.
• [Wikipedia: Mariner 1]
• [MARINER 1 Launch - Atlas-Agena, Cape Canaveral LC-12, 1962/07/22]
• [How A Tiny Mistake Destroyed America's First Interplanetary Space Probe]
1963 – Crown Colony of Sarawak gains self-governance.
1976 – Japan completes its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during imperial Japan's conquest of the country in the Second World War.
• [Wikipedia: Japanese occupation of the Philippines]
1977 – Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power.
1983 – Martial law in Poland is officially revoked.
1990 – Greg LeMond, an American road racing cyclist, wins his third Tour de France after leading the majority of the race. It was LeMond's second consecutive Tour de France victory.
1992 – Near Medellín, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison fearing extradition to the United States.
• [HistoryPod Video]
• [Colombian Drug Baron Escapes Luxurious Prison After Gunfight]
1993 – Great Flood of 1993: Levees near Kaskaskia, Illinois rupture, forcing the entire town to evacuate by barges operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.
• [Wikipedia: Great Flood of 1993]
• [NOVA: The Great Flood of 1993]
• [WGEM-TV: A Historical Perspective (1993 Mississippi River Flood)]
1997 – The second Blue Water Bridge opens between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario.
2003 – Members of 101st Airborne of the United States, aided by Special Forces, attack a compound in Iraq, killing Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay, along with Mustapha Hussein, Qusay's 14-year-old son, and a bodyguard.
• [AP VIDEO: EDIT of Shootout in Mosul. US military confirm Odai and Qusai dead]
• [AP VIDEO: Military confirms Saddam's sons dead]
• [Wikipedia: 2003 Mosul raid]
2005 – Jean Charles de Menezes is killed by police as the hunt begins for the London Bombers responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the 21 July 2005 London bombings.
• [Wikipedia: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes]
• [AP VIDEO: amily of Brazilian shot dead comment, visit Stockwell shrine]
• [5 NEWS: Police who shot Jean Charles de Menezes will not be prosecuted]
2011 – Norway attacks: First a bomb blast which targeted government buildings in central Oslo, followed by a massacre at a youth camp on the island of Utøya.
• [Wikipedia: 2011 Norway attacks]
• [ABC NEWS: Oslo, Norway, Terror Attacks]
• [WSJ: Norwegian Mass Killer Gives Nazi Salute in Court]
2012 – Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) captured the cities of Serê Kaniyê and Dirbêsiyê, during clashes with pro-government forces in Al-Hasakah.
• [Wikipedia: Syrian civil war]
• [Wikipedia: People's Protection Units]
• [VOX: Syria's war: Who is fighting and why]
• [Syrian Civil War Map]
• [Live Universal Awareness Map]
2013 – Dingxi earthquakes: A series of earthquakes in Dingxi, China, kills at least 89 people and injures more than 500 others.
• [Wikipedia: 2013 Dingxi earthquakes]
• [CCTV: Deadly earthquake strikes NW China]
• [euronews: China quakes: death toll rises, thousands homeless]
Back to Top
Support Macon Media
If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.
Become a Patron!
Or, if you prefer Pay Pal, try PayPal.me/MaconMedia
Published at 3:05am on Thursday, July 22, 2021
Back to Top
Supporting documents can be found at [MaconMedia.com]
Franklin Town Council - July 2021
Supporting documents posted online at [MaconMedia.com]
Back to Top
Local Weather
National Weather Map for Today
General forecast through Saturday Night
Franklin area
Today (Air Quality Alert)
A slight chance of showers in the early afternoon, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Widespread haze between 11am and 2pm. Areas of fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. Light winds out of the northwest. Chance of rain is 20%.
Tonight
Widespread haze. Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 60s. Calm winds.
Friday
A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 9am. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 80s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds.
Saturday
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 80s. Chance of rain is 20%.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.
Highlands Plateau
Today (Air Quality Alert)
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Widespread haze between 11am and 2pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with highs near 80. Calm winds.
Tonight
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows in the lower 60s. Calm winds.
Friday
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 9am. Mostly sunny, with highs near 80. Calm winds. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after midnight. Partly cloudy, with lows around 60. Calm winds.
Saturday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 70s.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows around 60.
Otto area
Today (Air Quality Alert)
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Widespread haze between 11am and 1pm. Areas of fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. Calm winds. TonightWidespread haze before 9pm. Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds.
Friday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10am. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 80s. Calm winds. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday Night
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm, then a slight chance of showers before midnight. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 20%.
Saturday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly in the early afternoon. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.
Nantahala area
Today (Air Quality Alert)
Widespread haze after 11am. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 80s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
Widespread haze before 9pm. Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with lows in the lower 60s. Light and variable winds.
Friday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 9am. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. Calm winds.
Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds.
Saturday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 80s.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.
Back to Top
Hazards and Tropical Weather
...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT...
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality in Raleigh NC has issued a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for Fine Particulates for Avery, Mitchell, Yancey, Madison, Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood, Jackson, Swain, Graham, Macon, Transylvania, Caldwell, Burke, McDowell, Rutherford, Polk, Alexander, Catawba, Iredell, Rowan, Cleveland, Lincoln, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, and Union Counties, until midnight EDT Thursday night.
An Air Quality Action Day means that Fine Particulates concentrations within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards.
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Thu Jul 22 2021
For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:
1. A broad trough of low pressure associated with a dissipated frontal system over Alabama and Georgia is forecast to move off of the southeastern United States coastline on Friday. Environmental conditions are expected to be marginally conducive for some gradual development over the weekend and into early next week while the system meanders offshore the coasts of Georgia and eastern Florida.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...low...30 percent.
Back to Top
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 is haze from the wildfires out on the west coast.)
Pollen levels are expected to be in the low-medium range (3.5 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 97°F in Franklin in 1952
Lowest Temperature 46°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1947
Greatest Rainfall 2.24 inches in Highlands in 1979
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
Back to Top
Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)
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].
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
Back to Top
National News Roundup
WeatherBrains 809: For God’s Sake Take Cover
Audio version and links to items discussed in podcast [LINKTEXT]
Trump Blames 2020 Loss On Bad Judges And Indians Paid To Vote | MSNBC (July 21st, 2021
Pelosi Nixes GOP Reps Nominated For Jan. 6 Committee Who Would Back Trump (July 21st, 2021)
Replay - First Human Flight Post-Flight Press Conference VICE NEWS: Exposing Dirty Cops to the FBI | BETRAYING THE BADGE
NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) - July 21st, 2021
PBS NewsHour full episode, July 21st, 2021
Back to Top
COVID-19 News and Updates
Since it looks like we may be in for a new wave of infections, here is a section on COVID-19. It will include local, regional, state, national, and global items.
Dr John Campbell: US third wave (07-20-2021)
TWiV 782: An antibody for all sarbecoviruses
In this episode, broadening of immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 after mRNA vaccine booster to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, five-fold underestimation of the number of cases in the US during the first six months of the pandemic, and a monoclonal antibody that broadly neutralizes many different sarbecoviruses.
Show notes a [https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-782/]
Coronavirus Update 127: Delta Variant and Vaccines
Back to Top
On This Day
July 22nd is the 203rd day of the year (204th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 162 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)
838 – Battle of Anzen: The Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffers a heavy defeat by the Abbasids.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Anzen]
1099 – First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem.
1209 – Massacre at Béziers: The first major military action of the Albigensian Crusade.
• [Wikipedia: Massacre at Béziers]
• [The Albigensian Massacre | Episode 9 | Lineage]
• [Wikipedia: Albigensian Crusade]
• [The Albigensian Crusade - Full Documentary]
1298 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Falkirk: King Edward I of England and his longbowmen defeat William Wallace and his Scottish schiltrons outside the town of Falkirk.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Falkirk]
• [Battle of Falkirk 1298 - War of Scottish Independence]
• [The full story of the battle of Falkirk 1298]
1342 – St. Mary Magdalene's flood is the worst such event on record for central Europe.
• [Wikipedia: St. Mary Magdalene's flood]
1443 – Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl in the Old Zürich War.
• [Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl]
• [Wikipedia: Old Zürich War]
1456 – Ottoman wars in Europe: Siege of Belgrade: John Hunyadi, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, defeats Mehmet II of the Ottoman Empire.
• [Siege of Belgrade (1456)]
• [Ottoman wars in Europe]
• [John Hunyadi 4/4 - Siege of Belgrade 1456]
1484 – Battle of Lochmaben Fair: A 500-man raiding party led by Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany and James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas are defeated by Scots forces loyal to Albany's brother James III of Scotland; Douglas is captured.
• [Battle of Lochmaben Fair]
1499 – Battle of Dornach: The Swiss decisively defeat the army of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Dornach]
1587 – Roanoke Colony: A second group of English settlers arrives on Roanoke Island off North Carolina to re-establish the deserted colony.
• [Wikipedia: Roanoke Colony]
• [Roanoke Descendants Revealed by DNA Test | In Search Of (Season 2) | History]
• [WAVY-TV: Lost Colony of Roanoke found groundbreaking evidence released in new book]
1598 – William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, is entered on the Stationers’ Register. By decree of Queen Elizabeth, the Stationers’ Register licensed printed works, giving the Crown tight control over all published material.
• [Wikipedia: Stationers' Register/a>]
• [Wikipedia: The Merchant of Venice]
• [The Merchant of Venice: 6 Minute Summary]
1686 – Albany, New York is formally chartered as a municipality by Governor Thomas Dongan.
1706 – The Acts of Union 1707 are agreed upon by commissioners from the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which, when passed by each countries' Parliaments, led to the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
• [Wikipedia: Acts of Union 1707]
• [What Made Britain Unite? | The Union of the Crowns and the Acts of Union Explained]
1793 – Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean becoming the first recorded human to complete a transcontinental crossing of North America.
1796 – Surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company name an area in Ohio "Cleveland" after Gen. Moses Cleaveland, the superintendent of the surveying party.
1797 – Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Battle between Spanish and British naval forces during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Battle, Rear-Admiral Nelson is wounded in the arm and the arm had to be partially amputated.
• [Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797)]
• [Admiral Nelson & The Battle of Santa Cruz 1797]
1802 – Emperor Gia Long conquers Hanoi and unified Viet Nam, which had experienced centuries of feudal warfare.
• [Wikipedia Bio: Gia Long]
1805 – Napoleonic Wars: War of the Third Coalition: Battle of Cape Finisterre: An inconclusive naval action is fought between a combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve of Spain and a British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)]
• [History in Five: The War of the Third Coalition (1805)]
• [War of the Third Coalition]
1812 – Napoleonic Wars: Peninsular War: Battle of Salamanca: British forces led by Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) defeat French troops near Salamanca, Spain.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Salamanca]
• [Wellington Strikes: Salamanca 1812]
• [Wikipedia: Peninsular War]
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Atlanta: Outside Atlanta, Confederate General John Bell Hood leads an unsuccessful attack on Union troops under General William T. Sherman on Bald Hill.
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Atlanta]
• [Civil War - The Battle For Atlanta Pt. 3 - JULY 22nd, 1864 "Hood vs. Sherman"]
• [When Georgia Howled: Sherman on the March]
• [Major Battles of the Civil War: The Atlanta Campaign]
1893 – Katharine Lee Bates writes "America the Beautiful" after admiring the view from the top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• [Wikipedia Bio: Katharine Lee Bates]
• [Wikipedia: America the Beautiful]
• [America the Beautiful - Katherine Bates, Samuel A. Ward]
1894 – The first ever motor race is held in France between the cities of Paris and Rouen. The fastest finisher was the Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, but the 'official' victory was awarded to Albert Lemaître driving his three-horsepower petrol engined Peugeot.
1916 – Preparedness Day Bombing: In San Francisco, a bomb explodes on Market Street during a parade, killing ten and injuring 40.
• [Wikipedia: Preparedness Day Bombing]
• [Jeff Johnson, San Francisco's 1916 Preparedness Day Bombing]
• [Tom Mooney & the Preparedness Day Bombing]
1921 – Rif War: The Spanish Army suffers its worst military defeat in modern times to the Berbers of the Rif region of Spanish Morocco.[2]
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Annual]
• [Wikipedia: Rif War]
• [Outbreak of the Rif War - Spanish Defeat at Annual I THE GREAT WAR 1921]
1933 – Aviator Wiley Post returns to Floyd Bennett Field in New York City, completing the first solo flight around the world in seven days, 18 hours and 49 minutes.
1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Popular Executive Committee of Valencia takes power in the Valencian Community.
• [Popular Executive Committee of Valencia]
• [Spanish Civil War]
1937 – New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.
• [Wikipedia: Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937]
• [Wikipedia: New Deal]
• [FDR's Supreme Court Packing Plan Explained - Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937]
• [Supreme Court Clips: Franklin Roosevelt's fireside chat about court packing plan]
• [Why Nine Justices? Court Packing's History and Future]
1942 – The United States government begins compulsory civilian gasoline rationing due to the wartime demands.
• [Wikipedia: Rationing]
• [Wikipedia: United States home front during World War II]
• [Rationing in the U.S. During World War II]
1942 – Grossaktion Warsaw: The systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto begins.
• [Grossaktion Warsaw]
1943 – World War II: Allied forces capture Palermo during the Allied invasion of Sicily.
• [Wikipedia: Allied invasion of Sicily]
• [Allies Capture Palermo - 1943 | Movietone Moment | 22 July 16]
1943 – World War II: Axis occupation forces violently disperse a massive protest in Athens, killing 22.
• [Wikipedia: 22 July 1943 Athens protest]
1944 – The Polish Committee of National Liberation publishes its manifesto, starting the period of Communist rule in Poland.
• [Wikipedia: Polish Committee of National Liberation]
• [Polish People's Republic]
1946 – King David Hotel bombing: A Zionist underground organisation, the Irgun, bombs the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, site of the civil administration and military headquarters for Mandatory Palestine, resulting in 91 deaths.
• [Wikipedia: King David Hotel bombing]
• [AP VIDEO: Kind David Hotel Blown Up]
1962 – Mariner program: Mariner 1 spacecraft flies erratically several minutes after launch and has to be destroyed.
• [Wikipedia: Mariner 1]
• [MARINER 1 Launch - Atlas-Agena, Cape Canaveral LC-12, 1962/07/22]
• [How A Tiny Mistake Destroyed America's First Interplanetary Space Probe]
1963 – Crown Colony of Sarawak gains self-governance.
1976 – Japan completes its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during imperial Japan's conquest of the country in the Second World War.
• [Wikipedia: Japanese occupation of the Philippines]
1977 – Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power.
1983 – Martial law in Poland is officially revoked.
1990 – Greg LeMond, an American road racing cyclist, wins his third Tour de France after leading the majority of the race. It was LeMond's second consecutive Tour de France victory.
1992 – Near Medellín, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison fearing extradition to the United States.
• [HistoryPod Video]
• [Colombian Drug Baron Escapes Luxurious Prison After Gunfight]
1993 – Great Flood of 1993: Levees near Kaskaskia, Illinois rupture, forcing the entire town to evacuate by barges operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.
• [Wikipedia: Great Flood of 1993]
• [NOVA: The Great Flood of 1993]
• [WGEM-TV: A Historical Perspective (1993 Mississippi River Flood)]
1997 – The second Blue Water Bridge opens between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario.
2003 – Members of 101st Airborne of the United States, aided by Special Forces, attack a compound in Iraq, killing Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay, along with Mustapha Hussein, Qusay's 14-year-old son, and a bodyguard.
• [AP VIDEO: EDIT of Shootout in Mosul. US military confirm Odai and Qusai dead]
• [AP VIDEO: Military confirms Saddam's sons dead]
• [Wikipedia: 2003 Mosul raid]
2005 – Jean Charles de Menezes is killed by police as the hunt begins for the London Bombers responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the 21 July 2005 London bombings.
• [Wikipedia: Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes]
• [AP VIDEO: amily of Brazilian shot dead comment, visit Stockwell shrine]
• [5 NEWS: Police who shot Jean Charles de Menezes will not be prosecuted]
2011 – Norway attacks: First a bomb blast which targeted government buildings in central Oslo, followed by a massacre at a youth camp on the island of Utøya.
• [Wikipedia: 2011 Norway attacks]
• [ABC NEWS: Oslo, Norway, Terror Attacks]
• [WSJ: Norwegian Mass Killer Gives Nazi Salute in Court]
2012 – Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) captured the cities of Serê Kaniyê and Dirbêsiyê, during clashes with pro-government forces in Al-Hasakah.
• [Wikipedia: Syrian civil war]
• [Wikipedia: People's Protection Units]
• [VOX: Syria's war: Who is fighting and why]
• [Syrian Civil War Map]
• [Live Universal Awareness Map]
2013 – Dingxi earthquakes: A series of earthquakes in Dingxi, China, kills at least 89 people and injures more than 500 others.
• [Wikipedia: 2013 Dingxi earthquakes]
• [CCTV: Deadly earthquake strikes NW China]
• [euronews: China quakes: death toll rises, thousands homeless]
Back to Top
Support Macon Media
If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.
Or, if you prefer Pay Pal, try PayPal.me/MaconMedia
Published at 3:05am on Thursday, July 22, 2021
Back to Top
Posts
0 comments :
Post a Comment