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Monday, January 31, 2022

Public Safety Log for Monday, January 31, 2022



Public Safety Log for Monday, January 31, 2022

Here are the public safety incidents and weather that pose a potential hazard to traffic flow and public safety in Macon County for this date. Ind=cidents are listed in chronological order from oldest to newest. 

**note** Macon Media usually posts this information on Facebook, Twitter, and Mewe. A recent Facebook restriction has caused Macon Media to reconsider relying so much on that platform due to it potentially becoming unavailable during an emergency, so emergency information will be posted on these daily logs first, then to the other social media platforms afterward. 


DAY SPONSOR

Tree Young Service is sponsoring Macon Media for today.

They provide complete tree care, are licensed and insured. Specializing in low ground impact. Danger tree removal. Crane Service, Pruning, Views, 24 hr emergency service. Call 828-421-0967 or visit http://youngtreeservice.com/ for more information.






8:15am: There is a report of an accident on US-74 (road blocked) near Crawford Cemetery Road in Jackson County. Balsam VFD is responding.



9:34am There's a report of an accident on us 74 westbound near Exit 85. EMS, rescue, and Sylva vfd are responding. Please use caution because ice has been reported on the roads in this area.

9:49am Command reports another accident has occurred at this location due to the ice.

1:18pm NC Forest Service and Sylva VFD are responding to a report of a brush fire out of control near the intersection of Skyland Drive and Mills Branch Road. Structure threatened.

1:40pm NC Forest Service reports the fire is under control and mop up underway. Fire size 1/10th of an acre with growth potential of 10 to 50 acres.






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 6:48am on Monday, January 31, 2021
Author: Bobby Coggins

News and Weather Briefing for Monday, January 31, 2022



**note** Facebook has banned Macon Media from posting for 24 hours, so please refer to Twitter or Mewe for public safety updates until 5 am tomorrow morning. 

Today's public safety log is on Macon Media and will be updated as incidents occur.

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

Back to Top
Weather
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Almanac
Macon Calendar
Local and StateNews
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
Science and Technology
On This Day
Support Macon Media


OUTLOOK

Dry high pressure will persist over the region through Tuesday night, and temperatures will moderate back to seasonal normals through the first half of the week. A slow moving frontal system will arrive from the northwest Wednesday night into Thursday bringing rain which will continue across the region until Friday. Dry and cool high pressure arrives behind the cold front Friday night into Saturday.



SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Franklin Area Schools

Franklin area schools will operate on a two hour delay today, Monday, January 31, 2022 with no buses on icy roads.

Nantahala School

Nantahala School will be operating on a Two-Hour Delay today, Monday, January 31, 2022.

Southwestern Community College

SCC Delayed Opening on 1/31/22 - All SCC locations except the Public Safety Training Center will open at 10 a.m.


---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

Tree Young Service is sponsoring Macon Media for today.

They provide complete tree care, are licensed and insured. Specializing in low ground impact. Danger tree removal. Crane Service, Pruning, Views, 24 hr emergency service. Call 828-421-0967 or visit Young Tree Service for more information.

---END SPONSOR SEGMENT------




Back to Top
Local Weather

General Forecast Through Wednesday Night



Franklin Area

Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 50s. Light winds out of the northwest.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 20s. Calm winds.

Tuesday

Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows around 30. Light winds out of the southeast.

Wednesday

A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the lower 50s.

Wednesday Night

Showers. Lows around 40. Chance of precipitation is 80%.



Highlands Plateau

Today

Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid 40s. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 20s. Calm winds in the early evening increasing to come out of the east around 5 mph after midnight.

Tuesday

Sunny, with highs in the mid 40s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows around 30. Winds out of the east 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday

A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the low-to-mid 40s.

Wednesday Night

Showers. Lows in the upper 30s. Chance of precipitation is 80%.



Otto and South Central Macon County

Today

Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-to-upper 20s. Calm winds.

Tuesday

Sunny, with highs in the lower 50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows around freezing. Winds out of the southeast around 5 mph.

Wednesday

A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with highs near 50.

Wednesday Night

Showers. Lows around 40. Chance of precipitation is 80%.





Nantahala Area

Today

Sunny, with highs in the upper 40s. Calm winds.

Tonight

Clear, with lows in the upper 20s. Calm winds.

Tuesday

Sunny, with highs near 50. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows around freezing. WInds out of the southeast around 5 mph.

Wednesday

A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with highs near 50.

Wednesday Night

Showers. Lows in the low-to-mid 40s. Chance of precipitation is 80%.






Back to Top
Hazards and Tropical Weather

Patchy black ice will pose a danger to drivers through this morning. Other than that, hazardous weather is not expected today.




Back to Top
Almanac







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. due to smoke from several fires in the southeast, most notably the Range 40 Fire in southern Alabama. See map below for a better idea of the situation.

Fire and Smoke Map


Local Air Monitor



Pollen

Pollen levels are expected to be in the low range (2.2 out of 12) today with Juniper and Elm being the main culprit. Tomorrow is expected to be in the low-medium range (2.6 out of 12).




Record Weather Events for January 31st

Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)

Highest Temperature 78°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 2002
Lowest Temperature -6°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1966
Greatest Rainfall 3.51 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 2013
Greatest Snowfall 5.0 inches in Highlands in 1899

Record weather events for January in Macon County

Highest Temperature 78°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on Jan 28, 1999
Lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands on Jan 21, 1985
Greatest Rainfall 4.30 inches in Nantahala on Jan 23, 1971
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 14.0 inches in Franklin on Jan 21, 1877

All-time record weather events for Macon County

Highest Temperature 101°F in Franklin on Jul 29, 1952
Lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands on Jan 21, 1985
Greatest Rainfall 21.15 inches in Highlands on Jul 29, 1879
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 25.5 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on Mar 13, 1993




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




THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK


Back to Top
Local and State News

• A year of service is commended at HFR (Highlands Fire and Rescue) awards banquet [Plateau Daily News]

• School closings, delays in Western North Carolina, Jan. 31[Asheville Citizen-Times]

• What two contradictory redistricting decisions could tell us about this week's Supreme Court showdown [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]

• What would a wind farm off the NC coast look like from the beach? Here’s an idea. [Raleigh News and Observer]

• Manager at NC Amazon warehouse admits to stealing, then selling merchandise worth millions [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]

• COVID-Infected Workers Force Mission to Redeploy Dwindling Staff, Postpone Surgeries [Smoky Mountain News]

• Macon County Board of Commissioners - January 2022 Regular Meeting [Macon Media]

Franklin Town Council - January 2022 Regular Meeting



Asheville Citizen-Times COVID-19 Tracker [Asheville Citizen-Times]

-->
Back to Top
National and World News Roundup

• Biden calls for release of US hostage in Afghanistan [Yahoo! News]

• The Hard-Line Russian Advisers Who Have Putin’s Ear [New York Times]

• Europe’s energy security worries NATO amid standoff with Russia [Al Jazeera]

• With shadow docket, Supreme Court puts Band-Aids on a bullet hole [Courthouse news Service]

• 2 homemade explosives detonate inside 2 cars within same week in south Oak Park, police say [KCRA-TV (Sacremento, CA)]

• On to Super Bowl: Bengals versus Rams [AP News]

• UAE intercepts, destroys missile in third attack launched by Houthis [Khaleej Times]

Global National: Jan. 30, 2022 | 2nd day of trucker convoy protests grind Ottawa businesses to halt



NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast - January 30th, 2021



PBS NewsHour Full Episode January 30th, 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: [November 18, 2021]



• WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard [World Health Organization]

Globally, as of 4:00pm CET, 28 January 2022, there have been 364,191,494 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,631,457 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 28 January 2022, a total of 9,854,237,363 vaccine doses have been administered.
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 4:00pm CET, 28 January 2022, there have been 72,373,369 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 869,779 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 21 January 2022, a total of 518,927,314 vaccine doses have been administered.

• Myocarditis Risk 17 Times Higher for Unvaccinated Patients Ages 12-30 Who Get COVID-19 Than COVID-Vaccinated Patients [Epic Research]

Dr John Campbell: Omicron outcompetes omicron, official data



• ‘Like sewage and rotting flesh’: Covid’s lasting impact on taste and smell [The Guardian]

Neil Young's Spotify Ultimatum



• Spotify Announces Addition Of Content Warnings In Response To Joe Rogan Covid-19 Misinformation Criticism [Deadline]

• Ottawa police investigating some anti vaccine protesters [AP News]

• Ottawa homeless shelter staff harassed by convoy protesters demanding food [CTV News]

• Explainer: Scientists on alert over rising cases caused by Omicron cousin BA.2[Reuters]

• A Multimodal Strategy to Reduce the Risk of Hospitalization/death in Ambulatory Patients with COVID-19 [Science Direct]

• The inactivated NDV-HXP-S COVID-19 vaccine induces a significantly higher ratio of neutralizing to non-neutralizing antibodies in humans as compared to mRNA vaccines [MedRxiv (PDF)]

• Monitoring COVID-19

[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

[Outbreak.info]

• CDC Releases Emergency Guidance for Healthcare Facilities to Prepare for Potential Omicron Surge [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

• COVID-19 case rates by county in 2021 [AXIOS]




Back to Top
Science and Technology News Roundup

• Robot performs first laparoscopic surgery without human help [Johns Hopkins University]

• Cyberattacks increasingly hobble pandemic-weary US schools [AP News]

• Putin orders apparent new system for banning internet content [Reuters]


Podcasts and Long Form Videos
Solar System Volcanoes and Iron Lava



Linux Did This First | LINUX Unplugged 443



Nuclear Terraforming: Using Nukes to Bring Life to Mars



Nvidia Might Be Done With Arm Acquisition



The Most Powerful Computers You've Never Heard Of



• Addendum - EP18 Iranian Interconnections [Hardcore History]

Hardcore History: EP18 Iranian Interconnections



NEWS: MSFT up $10B, Neil Young vs. Rogan (Spotify: Platform or Publisher), Case Study: Scratchpad



Elon Musk... and Asperger's Syndrome.







Back to Top
On This Day

January 31st is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 334 days remain until the end of the year (335 in leap years).



Historical Events

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




314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades.

1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the throne as King Eric X of Sweden.

1504 – The Treaty of Lyon ends the Italian War, confirming French domination of northern Italy, while Spain receives the Kingdom of Naples.

1578 – Eighty Years' War and Anglo-Spanish War: The Battle of Gembloux is a victory for Spanish forces led by Don John of Austria over a rebel army of Dutch, Flemish, English, Scottish, German, French and Walloons.

1606 – Gunpowder Plot: Four of the conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, are executed for treason by hanging, drawing and quartering, for plotting against Parliament and King James.

1747 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.

1814 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina).

1846 – After the Milwaukee Bridge War, the United States towns of Juneautown and Kilbourntown unify to create the City of Milwaukee.

1848 – John C. Frémont is court-martialed for mutiny and disobeying orders.

1862 – Alvan Graham Clark discovers the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius, through an 18.5-inch (47 cm) telescope now located at Northwestern University.

1865 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery, and submits it to the states for ratification.

1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief of all Confederate armies.

1891 – History of Portugal: The first attempt at a Portuguese republican revolution breaks out in the northern city of Porto.

1900 – Datu Muhammad Salleh is killed in Kampung Teboh, Tambunan, ending the Mat Salleh Rebellion.

1901 – Anton Chekhov's Three sisters premieres at Moscow Art Theatre in Russia.

1915 – World War I: Germany is the first to make large-scale use of poison gas in warfare in the Battle of Bolimów against Russia.

1917 – World War I: Kaiser Wilhelm II orders the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare.

1918 – A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.

1918 – Finnish Civil War: The Suinula massacre, which changes the nature of the war in a more hostile direction, takes place in Kangasala.

1919 – The Battle of George Square takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, during a campaign for shorter working hours.

1928 – Leon Trotsky is exiled to Alma-Ata.

1942 – World War II: Allied forces are defeated by the Japanese at the Battle of Malaya and retreat to Singapore.

1943 – World War II: German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to the Soviets at Stalingrad, followed two days later by the remainder of his Sixth Army, ending one of the war's fiercest battles.

1944 – World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.

1944 – World War II: During the Anzio campaign, the 1st Ranger Battalion (Darby's Rangers) is destroyed behind enemy lines in a heavily outnumbered encounter at Battle of Cisterna, Italy.

1945 – US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed for desertion, the first such execution of an American soldier since the Civil War.

1945 – World War II: About 3,000 inmates from the Stutthof concentration camp are forcibly marched into the Baltic Sea at Palmnicken (now Yantarny, Russia) and executed.

1945 – World War II: The end of fighting in the Battle of Hill 170 during the Burma Campaign, in which the British 3 Commando Brigade repulsed a Japanese counterattack on their positions and precipitated a general retirement from the Arakan Peninsula.

1946 – Cold War: Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling that of the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).

1946 – The Democratic Republic of Vietnam introduces the đồng to replace the French Indochinese piastre at par.

1949 – These Are My Children, the first television daytime soap opera, is broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago.

1950 – President Truman orders the development of thermonuclear weapons.

1951 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 90 relating to the Korean War is adopted.

1953 – A North Sea flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands and over 300 in the United Kingdom.

1957 – Eight people (five total crew from two aircraft and three on the ground) in Pacoima, California are killed following the mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet.

1958 – Cold War: Space Race: The first successful American satellite detects the Van Allen radiation belt.

1961 – Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2: The chimpanzee Ham travels into outer space.

1966 – The Soviet Union launches the unmanned Luna 9 spacecraft as part of the Luna program.

1968 – Vietnam War: Viet Cong guerrillas attack the United States embassy in Saigon, and other attacks, in the early morning hours, later grouped together as the Tet Offensive.

1968 – Nauru gains independence from Australia.

1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14: Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon.

1971 – The Winter Soldier Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to publicize war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies in Vietnam, begins in Detroit.

1978 – The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) goes on public display after being returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.

1988 – Doug Williams becomes the first African-American quarterback to play in a Super Bowl and leads the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XXII.

1996 – An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in Colombo, killing at least 86 people and injuring 1,400.

2000 – Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crash: An MD-83, experiencing horizontal stabilizer problems, crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Point Mugu, California, killing all 88 aboard.

2001 – In the Netherlands, a Scottish court convicts Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and acquits another Libyan citizen for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

2001 – Two Japan Airlines planes nearly collide over Suruga Bay in Japan.

2009 – In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people.

2018 – Both a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse occur.

2019 – Abdullah of Pahang is sworn in as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

2020 – The United Kingdom's membership within the European Union ceases in accordance with Article 50, after 47 years of being a member state.

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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 5:00am on Monday, January 31, 2021
Author: Bobby Coggins


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

Sunday, January 30, 2022

News and Weather Briefing for Sunday, January 30, 2022



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

Back to Top
Weather
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Almanac
Macon Calendar
Local and StateNews
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
Science and Technology
On This Day
Support Macon Media


OUTLOOK

A dry airmass will persist over the region through Tuesday night, and temperatures will moderate back to seasonal normals to start the work week. A frontal system will encroach on the area at midweek, bringing still warmer temperatures, and rainfall by early Thursday.


---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.



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Local Weather

General Forecast Through Wednesday Night



Franklin Area

Sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 40s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the west 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid 20s. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph becoming calm before midnight.

Monday

Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 50s. Light and variable winds.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 20s. Calm winds.

Tuesday

Sunny, with highs in the mid 50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows around 30.

Wednesday

A 40 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the low-to-mid 50s.

Wednesday Night

Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the lower 40s. Chance of precipitation is 70%.



Highlands Plateau

Today

Sunny, with highs near 40. Winds out of the west 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tonight

Increasing clouds, with lows in the mid 20s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Monday

Sunny, with highs in the mid 40s. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph in the morning becoming calm in the afternoon.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 20s. Calm winds early in the evening increasing to come out of the northeast around 5 mph before midnight.

Tuesday

Sunny, with highs in the mid 40s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows around 30.

Wednesday

A 40 percent chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid 40s.

Wednesday Night

Showers likely, mainly after 9pm. Cloudy, with lows around 40. Chance of precipitation is 70%.



Otto and South Central Macon County

Today

Sunny, with highs in the mid 40s. Light winds out of the west early in the morning increasing to 5 to 10 mph by midmorning.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid 20s. Winds out of the north 3 to 5 mph.

Monday

Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 50s. Calm winds.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the upper 20s. Calm winds.

Tuesday

Sunny, with highs in the lower 50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows around freezing.

Wednesday

A 40 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs near 50.

Wednesday Night

Showers likely, mainly after 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the lower 40s. Chance of precipitation is 70%.





Nantahala Area

Today

Sunny, with highs in the low-to mid 40s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid 20s. Winds out of the west around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.

Monday

Sunny, with highs in the upper 40s. Calm winds.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with lows around 30. Calm winds.

Tuesday

Sunny, with highs near 50. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with lows around freezing.






Back to Top
Hazards and Tropical Weather

Patchy black ice will pose a danger to drivers through this morning. Temperatures will struggle to rise above freezing, but should make it during the middle part of the day across the mountains at elevations below 5000 feet. The ridge tops may well remain below freezing today.




Back to Top
Almanac







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

Fire and Smoke Map


Local Air Monitor



Pollen

Pollen levels are expected to be in the low range (1.3 out of 12) today with Juniper and Elmbeing the main culprit. Tomorrow is expected to be in the low range (2.3 out of 12).




Record Weather Events for January 30th

Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)

Highest Temperature 76°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 2002
Lowest Temperature -14°F in Highlands in 1966
Greatest Rainfall 4.20 inches in Franklin in 1875
Greatest Snowfall 3.5 inches in Highlands in 1981

Record weather events for January in Macon County

Highest Temperature 78°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on Jan 28, 1999
Lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands on Jan 21, 1985
Greatest Rainfall 4.30 inches in Nantahala on Jan 23, 1971
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 14.0 inches in Franklin on Jan 21, 1877

All-time record weather events for Macon County

Highest Temperature 101°F in Franklin on Jul 29, 1952
Lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands on Jan 21, 1985
Greatest Rainfall 21.15 inches in Highlands on Jul 29, 1879
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 25.5 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on Mar 13, 1993




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




THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK


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Local and State News

• Challenge to Vance Monument removal in Asheville set for Feb. review by NC Appellate Court [Asheville Citizen-Times]

• Tight timeline for challenge to Cawthorn's eligibility to run [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]

• ‘I will die free’: Unvaccinated Burke County man denied kidney transplant by hospital [WSOC-TV (Charlotte, NC)]

• Macon County Board of Commissioners - January 2022 Regular Meeting [Macon Media]

Franklin Town Council - January 2022 Regular Meeting



Asheville Citizen-Times COVID-19 Tracker [Asheville Citizen-Times]

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National and World News Roundup

• Man charged with threatening Biden said he was ‘coming to the White House,' Secret Service alleges [Yahoo! News]

Ukrainian Soldiers Are Preparing for Russia to Invade (Again)



The REAL Reason Putin is Preparing for War in Ukraine



• Russian troops display combat-readiness amid Ukraine tensions [Russia Today]

• Full collection of SCOTUSblog coverage of Breyer Retirement Announcement [SCOTUSblog]

• The depopulation timebomb facing the West is about to explode [The telegraph]

Global National: Jan. 29, 2022 | Trucker convoy vows to stay in Ottawa until demands met



NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast - January 29th, 2021



PBS NewsHour Full Episode January 29th, 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: [November 18, 2021]



• WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard [World Health Organization]

Globally, as of 5:55pm CET, 21 January 2022, there have been 340,543,962 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,570,163 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 19 January 2022, a total of 9,571,502,663 vaccine doses have been administered.
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 5:55pm CET, 21 January 2022, there have been 68,199,861 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 852,334 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 14 January 2022, a total of 511,548,471 vaccine doses have been administered.

• Myocarditis Risk 17 Times Higher for Unvaccinated Patients Ages 12-30 Who Get COVID-19 Than COVID-Vaccinated Patients [Epic Research]

Dr John Campbell: Study confirms omicron reinfections



• https://www.science.org/content/article/after-omicron-some-scientists-foresee-period-quiet [Science]

• Thousands protest Covid mandates and restrictions in Ottawa [Courthouse News Service]

• Taiwan invents chip able to identify asymptomatic COVID cases rapidly [Focus Taiwan]

• ‘Pandemic vs endemic’ sets up two conflicting Covid endgames [Financial Times]

• Lynnwood bar advertised 'catch the virus' show [KOMO-TV (Seattle, WA)]

• Monitoring COVID-19

[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

[Outbreak.info]

• CDC Releases Emergency Guidance for Healthcare Facilities to Prepare for Potential Omicron Surge [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

• COVID-19 case rates by county in 2021 [AXIOS]




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Science and Technology News Roundup

• Walmart Just Invested Big in Vertical Farming [Singularity Hub]

• title [SOURCE]

• New tech could reverse diseases, including IBS and diabetes, using intestinal cells [Gut News]

• The Scientific Debate Rages on: Is there Water Under Mars’ South Pole? [Universe Today]

• How the Extinction of Ice Age Mammals May Have Forced Us to Invent Civilization [Singularity Hub]


Podcasts and Long Form Videos
Level1 News January 26 2022: Nobody Expects The Microsoft Acquisition!



How Does Gravity Escape A Black Hole?



• Addendum - EP18 Iranian Interconnections [Hardcore History]

Hardcore History: EP18 Iranian Interconnections



Deep Space Radiation, Black Holes And Other Questions - Episode 14



How one British laboratory protects the world's chocolate



5 cool things you can do with your router's USB port!



Bill Gates’s Heroes in the Field: Kakenya Ntaiya



Brian Keating and Lee Cronin on Life in the Universe, Assembly Theory, and the Meaning of Time



NEWS: MSFT up $10B, Neil Young vs. Rogan (Spotify: Platform or Publisher), Case Study: Scratchpad



Elon Musk... and Asperger's Syndrome.







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On This Day

January 30th is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 335 days remain until the end of the year (336 in leap years).



Historical Events

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




1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.

1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.

1607 – An estimated 200 square miles (51,800 ha) along the coasts of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary in England are destroyed by massive flooding, resulting in an estimated 2,000 deaths.

1648 – Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster and Osnabrück is signed, ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain.

1649 – Charles I of England is executed in Whitehall, London.

1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, is ritually executed more than two years after his death, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself deposed.

1703 – The Forty-seven rōnin, under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master, by killing Kira Yoshinaka.

1789 – Tây Sơn forces emerge victorious against Qing armies and liberate the capital Thăng Long.

1806 – The original Lower Trenton Bridge (also called the Trenton Makes the World Takes Bridge), which spans the Delaware River between Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey, is opened.

1820 – Edward Bransfield sights the Trinity Peninsula and claims the discovery of Antarctica.

1826 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, considered the world's first modern suspension bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the north West coast of Wales, is opened.

1835 – In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempts to shoot president Andrew Jackson, but fails and is subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen as well as Jackson himself.

1847 – Yerba Buena, California is renamed San Francisco, California.

1858 – The first Hallé concert is given in Manchester, England, marking the official founding of The Hallé orchestra as a full-time, professional orchestra.

1862 – The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched.

1889 – Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, is found dead with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in the Mayerling.

1902 – The first Anglo-Japanese Alliance is signed in London.

1908 – Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is released from prison by Jan C. Smuts after being tried and sentenced to two months in jail earlier in the month.

1911 – The destroyer USS Terry makes the first airplane rescue at sea saving the life of Douglas McCurdy ten miles from Havana, Cuba.

1920 – Japanese carmaker Mazda is founded, initially as a cork-producing company.

1925 – The Government of Turkey expels Patriarch Constantine VI from Istanbul.

1930 – The Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union orders that a million prosperous peasant families be driven off their farms.

1933 – Adolf Hitler's rise to power: Hitler takes office as the Chancellor of Germany.

1942 – World War II: Japanese forces invade the island of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies. Some 300 captured Allied troops are killed after the surrender. One-quarter of the remaining POWs remain alive at the end of the war.

1944 – World War II: The Battle of Cisterna, part of Operation Shingle, begins in central Italy.

1945 – World War II: The Wilhelm Gustloff, overfilled with German refugees, sinks in the Baltic Sea after being torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, killing approximately 9,500 people.

1945 – World War II: Raid at Cabanatuan: One hundred and twenty-six American Rangers and Filipino resistance fighters liberate over 500 Allied prisoners from the Japanese-controlled Cabanatuan POW camp.

1948 – British South American Airways' Tudor IV Star Tiger disappears over the Bermuda Triangle.

1948 – Following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in his home compound, India's prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, broadcasts to the nation, saying "The light has gone out of our lives". The date of the assassination becomes observed as "Martyrs' Day" in India.

1956 – In the United States, Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s home is bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery bus boycott.

1959 – The forces of the Sultanate of Muscat occupy the last strongholds of the Imamate of Oman, Saiq and Shuraijah, marking the end of Jebel Akhdar War in Oman.

1959 – MS Hans Hedtoft, specifically designed to operate in icebound seas, strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sinks, killing all 95 aboard.

1960 – The African National Party is founded in Chad, through the merger of traditionalist parties.

1964 – In a bloodless coup, General Nguyễn Khánh overthrows General Dương Văn Minh's military junta in South Vietnam.

1968 – Vietnam War: Tet Offensive launch by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army against South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies.

1969 – The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.

1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Sunday: British paratroopers open fire on anti-internment marchers in Derry, Northern Ireland, killing 13 people; another person later dies of injuries sustained.

1972 – Pakistan leaves the Commonwealth of Nations in protest of its recognition of breakaway Bangladesh.

1974 – Pan Am Flight 806 crashes near Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa, killing 97.

1975 – The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is established as the first United States National Marine Sanctuary.

1979 – A Varig Boeing 707-323C freighter, flown by the same commander as Flight 820, disappears over the Pacific Ocean 30 minutes after taking off from Tokyo.

1982 – Richard Skrenta writes the first PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple boot program called "Elk Cloner".

1989 – The American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan is closed.

1995 – Hydroxycarbamide becomes the first approved preventive treatment for sickle cell disease.

2000 – Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ivory Coast, killing 169.

2013 – Naro-1 becomes the first carrier rocket launched by South Korea.

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Published at 5:00am on Sunday, January 30, 2021
Author: Bobby Coggins


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