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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
OUTLOOK
An upper ridge will remain dominant through the weekend, but with Atlantic moisture bringing increased rain chances from time to time. Expect mainly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms, mainly over the mountains. Very warm temperatures will continue for several more days.
Pigeon River Flood of 2021 Coverage by Haywood County Outlets
• Smoky Mountain News [The Pigeon River Flood of 2021] • The Mountaineer [Flood Coverage]
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Local News
Board of Education Contiunuation Meeting Tonight at 6pm
The Macon County Board of Education will be meeting tonight at 6pm in the boardroom at the Cental Offices located at 1202 Old Murphy Road in Franklin. The meeting is open to the public and masks will be required. Macon Media will webcast the meeting live.
Macon County Board of Education - August 16, 2021
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Local Weather
National Weather Map for Today
General forecast through Friday Night
Franklin area
Today
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 4pm. Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 80s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 7pm. Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the lower 80s. Light and variable winds. Chance of rain is 60%. 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 9pm. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds.
Friday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s.
Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.
Highlands Plateau
Today
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 70s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southeast around 5 mph. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 2am. Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows around 60. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-70s. Light and variable winds. Chance of rain is 60%. 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 9pm. Partly cloudy, with lows around 60. Calm winds.
Friday
A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 70s. Chance of rain is 30%.
Friday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Partly cloudy, with lows around 60.
Otto area
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 4pm. Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. Light and variable winds. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1am. Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the lower 80s. Light winds out of the south. Chance of rain is 60%. 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 9pm. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds.
Friday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s.
Friday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.
Nantahala area
Today
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. Calm winds. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10pm. Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with highs near 80. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s. Calm winds.
Friday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5pm. Sunny, with highs in the lower 80s.
Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-60s.
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Hazards and Tropical Weather
Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected this afternoon and evening. The main threats will be cloud-to-ground lightning and locally heavy rainfall. One or two storms may become strong to severe.
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Wed Aug 25 2021
For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:
1. A broad area of low pressure is expected to form over the western Caribbean Sea in a couple of days from a tropical wave currently located over the central Caribbean Sea. Environmental conditions are forecast to be conducive for development, and a tropical depression is likely to form late this week or this weekend while the system moves northwestward over the northwestern Caribbean Sea, near or across the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, and into the western Gulf of Mexico by Sunday.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...30 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...high...70 percent.
2. A broad trough of low pressure is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms over the central tropical Atlantic about 1000 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. Only slow development of this system is expected during the next day or so due to unfavorable upper-level winds. Afterwards, environmental conditions are expected to become more conducive for development, and a tropical depression is likely to form late this week or this weekend while the system turns eastward over the central Atlantic.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...30 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...high...70 percent.
3. A tropical wave over the far eastern tropical Atlantic located several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands is producing a disorganized area of showers and thunderstorms. Some development of this system is possible over the next several days while it moves west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph over the eastern tropical Atlantic. Upper-level winds are forecast to become less conducive for development by this weekend.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...20 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...low...30 percent.
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Almanac
Air Quality
Air quality is in the extreme upper range of green for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the extreme upper range of green.
Fire and Smoke Map
(There is haze from the wildfires out on the west coast.)
Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium-high range (8.1 out of 12) today with Ragweed, Chenopods, and Grasses being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the medium-high range (8.1 out of 12).
Weather Extremes for Macon County on August 21st
Highest Temperature 92°F in Franklin in 1975
Lowest Temperature 45°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1952
Greatest Rainfall 2.81 inches in Highlands in 2008
Greatest Snowfall (No snowfall recorded on this date since records started being kept in 1872)
August Weather Extremes for Macon County
Highest Temperature 99°F in Franklin on 08-09-1980 Lowest Temperature 40°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 08-29-1968 Greatest Rainfall 9.68 inches in Highlands on 08-13-1940
Greatest Snowfall no measurable snowfall has been recorded since records started being kept in 1873
Weather Extremes for North Carolina for the month of August
Data available from 1870 to 2020
Highest Temperature 110°F Fayetteville, Cumberland County 08-21-1983
Lowest Temperature 31°F Banner Elk, Avery County 08-23-1930
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 13.08 in Idlewild, Ashe County 08-14-1930
Monthly Averages for North Carolina
Warmest Weather Station 79.7°F Wilmington, New Hanover County
Coldest Weather Station 59.6°F Mount Mitchell, Yancey County
Wettest Weather Station 7.74 in Lake Toxaway, Transylvania County
Driest Weather Station 3.12 in Lexington, Davidson County
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Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)
IMAGE A TASTE OF TUSCANY
A Taste of Tuscany
September 11, 2021
The Zonta Club is proud to announce its upcoming fundraising event to aid the Franklin Fire Department’s infant car seat program and the Special Liberty Project. Now headquartered in Macon County, the Special Liberty Project is a non-profit organization serving the entire veteran family, focusing on Gold Star families, spouses of suicide victims and healing veterans.
The nature-based, therapeutic programs offered include fun, educational activities for children with Veteran Mentors, retreats and support groups for Gold Star families and family members of suicide victims, as well as peer-supported outdoor pursuits to help veterans return to civilian life.
The Taste of Tuscany event will be held on September 11 at 5 p.m. at 757 Harrison Avenue in Franklin and will honor our first responders. It will feature an open air wine tasting of Slanted Window wines from SenAmore Vineyards in Tellico, accompanied by food and music. There will be a live auction, as well as a silent auction featuring artwork and designer goods. Slanted Window wines will be available for purchase. A limited number of tickets are still available at $100 per person, to include a wine tasting flight and commemorative wine glass. VIP tickets are available for $150 that feature an exclusive evening with the vintner and more. Tables of eight, including two VIP tickets, may be reserved.
For more information visit the Zonta Franklin NC Facebook page or their website, zontafranklinnc.org
Encastic Painting Classes
The Macon County Art Association (a not for profit member organization) is offering classes in encastic 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
Voting rights restored to 55,000 North Carolinians [Carolina Public Press]
House Votes To Pass $3.5 Trillion Budget Resolution
Level1 News August 25 2021: Zestimate: You Will Rent, Forever
NBC Nightly News, August 24th, 2021
PBS NewsHour full episode, August 24th, 2021
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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.
COVID-19 Numbers for Macon County: [August 20, 2021]
What the FDA’s approval of a COVID vaccine really means [Poynter]
Speaking of Psychology: Why people believe in conspiracy theories, with Karen Douglas, PhD [American Psychological Association]
85-90% of the U.S. must be vaccinated ‘if we’re going to get past this,’ warns Dr. Peter Hotez [CNBC]
https://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/pressrelease/researchers-discover-hidden-sars-cov-2-gate-that-opens-to-allow-covid-infection [University of San Diego]
A New Antibody-Dependent Enhancement Hypothesis [Science Magazine]
Superspreaders drive the largest outbreaks of hospital onset COVID-19 infections [eLife Sciences]
Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Frontline Workers Before and During B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant Predominance — Eight U.S. Locations, December 2020–August 2021 [CDC]
mRNA Vaccination Induces Durable Immune Memory to SARS-CoV-2 with Continued Evolution to Variants of Concern [BioRxiv]
Reduced T cell and antibody responses to inactivated coronavirus vaccine among males and individuals above 55 years old [MedRxiv]
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On This Day
August 25th is the 237th day of the year (238th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 128 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)
766 – Emperor Constantine V humiliates nineteen high-ranking officials, after discovering a plot against him. He executes the leaders, Constantine Podopagouros and his brother Strategios. 1248 – The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III, the Archbishop of Utrecht. 1258 – Regent George Mouzalon and his brothers are killed during a coup headed by the aristocratic faction under Michael VIII Palaiologos, paving the way for its leader to ultimately usurp the throne of the Empire of Nicaea. 1270 – Philip III, although suffering from dysentery, becomes King of France following the death of his father Louis IX, during the Eighth Crusade. His uncle, Charles I of Naples, is forced to begin peace negotiations with Muhammad I al-Mustansir, Hafsid Sultan of Tunis. 1537 – The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior, is formed. 1543 – António Mota and a few companions become the first Europeans to visit Japan. 1580 – War of the Portuguese Succession: Spanish victory at the Battle of Alcântara brings about the Iberian Union. 1609 – Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.
• [Physics Today: Galileo demonstrates his first telescope]
• [SciHi Blog: Galileo Galilei and his Telescope]
1630 – Portuguese forces are defeated by the Kingdom of Kandy at the Battle of Randeniwela in Sri Lanka. 1758 – Seven Years' War: Frederick II of Prussia defeats the Russian army at the Battle of Zorndorf. 1814 – War of 1812: On the second day of the Burning of Washington, British troops torch the Library of Congress, United States Treasury, Department of War, and other public buildings.
• [Wikipedia: Burning of Washington]
• [The Burning of Washington: The War of 1812 in Four Minutes]
• [Out of the Ashes: A New Library for Congress and the Nation]
1823 – American fur trapper Hugh Glass is mauled by a grizzly bear while on an expedition in South Dakota. 1825 – The Thirty-Three Orientals declare the independence of Uruguay from Brazil. 1830 – The Belgian Revolution begins. 1835 – The first Great Moon Hoax article is published in The New York Sun, announcing the discovery of life and civilization on the Moon. 1875 – Captain Matthew Webb becomes the first person to swim across the English Channel, traveling from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 21 hours and 45 minutes. 1883 – France and Viet Nam sign the Treaty of Huế, recognizing a French protectorate over Annam and Tonkin. 1894 – Kitasato Shibasaburō discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet. 1898 – Seven hundred Greek civilians, 17 British guards and the British Consul of Crete are killed by a Turkish mob in Heraklion, Greece. 1914 – World War I: Japan declares war on Austria-Hungary. 1914 – World War I: The library of the Catholic University of Leuven is deliberately destroyed by the German Army. Hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable volumes and Gothic and Renaissance manuscripts are lost.
• [Wikipedia: Rape of Belgium]
• [The Fire of Leuven (WWI)]
• [How the university of Leuven kept losing its library.]
1916 – The United States National Park Service is created. 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw, which began on August 13, ends with the Red Army's defeat. 1933 – The Diexi earthquake strikes Mao County, Sichuan, China and kills 9,000 people. 1939 – The United Kingdom and Poland form a military alliance in which the UK promises to defend Poland in case of invasion by a foreign power. 1940 – World War II: The first Bombing of Berlin by the British Royal Air Force.
1942 – World War II: Second day of the Battle of the Eastern Solomons; a Japanese naval transport convoy headed towards Guadalcanal is turned back by an Allied air attack. 1944 – World War II: Paris is liberated by the Allies.
• [Newsreel]
• [Color Newsreel (Silent)]
• [Newsreel US Troop Parade]
1945 – Ten days after World War II ends with Japan announcing its surrender, armed supporters of the Chinese Communist Party kill U.S. intelligence officer John Birch, regarded by some of the American right as the first victim of the Cold War. 1945 – The August Revolution ends as Emperor Bảo Đại abdicates, ending the Nguyễn dynasty. 1948 – The House Un-American Activities Committee holds first-ever televised congressional hearing: "Confrontation Day" between Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss. 1950 – To avert a threatened strike during the Korean War, President Truman orders Secretary of the Army Frank Pace to seize control of the nation's railroads. 1961 – President Jânio Quadros of Brazil resigns after just seven months in power, initiating a political crisis that culminates in a military coup in 1964. 1967 – George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party, is assassinated by a former member of his group. 1980 – Zimbabwe joins the United Nations. 1981 – Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Saturn.
1989 – Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Neptune, the last planet in the Solar System at the time, due to Pluto being within Neptune's orbit from 1979 to 1999.[5]
1991 – Belarus gains its independence from the Soviet Union. 1991 – The Battle of Vukovar begins. An 87-day siege of Vukovar by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various Serb paramilitary forces, between August and November 1991 (during the Croatian War of Independence).
• [Wikipedia: Battle of Vukovar]
• [Battle of Vukovar 1991 (War in Croatia)]
• [BBC: Battle of Vukovar (1991)]
1991 – Linus Torvalds announces the first version of what will become Linux.
• [Wikipedia: History of Linux]
• [Wikipedia: Linux]
• [Wikipedia Bio: Linus Torvalds]
1997 – Egon Krenz, the former East German leader, is convicted of a shoot-to-kill policy at the Berlin Wall. 2001 – American singer Aaliyah and several members of her record company are killed as their overloaded aircraft crashes shortly after takeoff from Marsh Harbour Airport, Bahamas. 2006 – Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Lazarenko is sentenced to nine years imprisonment for money laundering, wire fraud, and extortion. 2012 – Voyager 1 spacecraft enters interstellar space becoming the first man-made object to do so.
2017 – Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Texas as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States since 2004. Over the next few days, the storm causes catastrophic flooding throughout much of eastern Texas, killing 106 people and causing $125 billion in damage.
• [Wikipedia: Hurricane Harvey (2004)]
• [ABC News Livestream]
• [#HOUSTONSTRONG: Remembering Hurricane Harvey]
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Published at 4:15am on Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Resources used to compile the information in this article include, but are not limited to the following websites or books: MaconMedia.com, youtube.com, weather.gov, airnow.gov, wikipedia.com, onthisday.com, ncdcr.gov, ncsu.edu, utah.edu, https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/, wolfram.com, biorxiv.org, aps.org, nejm.org, plos.org, cell.com, researchsquare.com, cureus.com, spc.noaa.gov, nhc.noaa.gov, ncdenr.org, medrxiv.org, archive.org, ncpedia.org, nasa.gov, https://ww2days.com, nih.gov, carolinapublicpress.org, microbe.tv, smokymountainnews.com, psypost.org, blogspot.com, pollen.com, franklinnc.com, maconnc.org, spaceweather.com, solarham.com, loc.gov, ncleg.net, senate.gov, house.gov, whitehouse.gov, drudgereport.com, politico.com, realclearpolitics.com, ushmm.org, This Day in North Carolina History, World War II Day By Day, The Holocaust Encyclopedia, The Timetables of History, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The World History and Book of Facts (multiple years), On This Day In History: Over 4,000 facts, The NASA Archives. 60 Years in Space, This Day in North Carolina History, The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration: From the Ancient World to the Extraterrestrial Future, Spaceflight, 2nd Edition: The Complete Story from Sputnik to Curiousity, The Story of Civilization (11 volumes), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, American History, Volume 1: 1492-1877, American History, Volume 2: 1877 - Present, A Complete Chronolgy of the Second World War. Weather and Almanac data and information sources: Sources (except where otherwise credited): heavens-above.com, Ian Webster's Github, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, The National Weather Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, National Hurricane Center, Penn State University Electronic Wall Map, The State Climate Office of North Carolina, Storm Prediction Center, U.S. Naval Observatory, University of Utah Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and the Weather Prediction Center. Back to Top
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