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Weather
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Almanac
Macon Calendar
Local and StateNews
Special Section: Russia Invades Ukraine (Day 5)
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
Science and Technology
On This Day
Support Macon Media
OUTLOOK
Dry high pressure remains over the area through Thursday. A dry but cooler back door cold front moves south across the area Friday. Warm high pressure returns for the weekend.
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Local Weather
General Forecast Through Wednesday Night
Franklin Area
Today
Sunny, with highs near 60. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the morning.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with lows around freezing. Winds out of the southwest around 5 mph becoming calm before midnight.
Tuesday
Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with highs in the mid 60s. Light and variable winds.
Tuesday Night
Clear, with lows in the mid 30s. Calm winds.
Wednesday
Sunny, with highs near 70. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 40.
Highlands Plateau
Today
Sunny, with highs near 50. Light and variable winds.
Tonight
Increasing clouds, with lows around freezing. Calm winds.
Tuesday
Sunny, with highs in the mid 50s. Calm winds becoming west around 5 mph by midmorning.
Tuesday Night
Clear, with lows in the mid 30s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday
Sunny, with highs in the lower 60s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 40.
Otto and South Central Macon County
Today
Sunny, with highs near 60. Light and variable winds.
Tonight
Increasing clouds, with lows around freezing. Calm winds.
Tuesday
Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 60s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night
Clear, with lows in the mid 30s. Calm winds.
Wednesday
Sunny, with highs near 70. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with lows around 40.
Nantahala Area
Today
Sunny, with highs in the mid 50s. Light and variable winds early in the morning increasing to come out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph iby midmorning.
Tonight
Increasing clouds, with lows in the mid 30s. Winds out of the southwest around 5 mph becoming calm before midnight.
Tuesday
Sunny, with highs in the upper 50s. Light and variable winds.
Tuesday Night
Clear, with lows in the upper 30s. Calm winds.
Wednesday
Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 60s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the lower 40s.
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Hazards and Tropical Weather
Hazardous weather is not expected.
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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.
Fire and Smoke Map
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium-high range (8.4 out of 12) today with Alder and Maple being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the low range (8.1 out of 12).
Record Weather Events for February 28th
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 79°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1996
Lowest Temperature 6°F in Highlands in 2002
Greatest Rainfall 4.00 inches in Highlands in 1882
Greatest Snowfall 6.0 inches in Highlands in 1937
Record weather events for February in Macon County
Highest Temperature 79°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 02-28-1996
Lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands on 02-13-1899
Greatest Rainfall 6.37 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 02-13-1966
Greatest Snowfall 15.0 inches in Highlands on 02-14-1912
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
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Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)
THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
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Local and State News
US Senate Debate (Republican Primary Candidates) by John Locke Foundation
• NC Republicans seek to differentiate themselves in first US Senate debate [Raleigh News and Observer]
• 7 takeaways from NC GOP's first U.S. Senate primary debate [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)E]
• NC jail equipment upgrade courtesy of federal COVID relief dollars (McDowell County) [Carolina Public Press]
• Hundreds gather in support, solidarity, prayer for Ukraine in downtown Asheville [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• One dead, one flown to hospital after shots fired outside McDonald's in Cherokee [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• Otto Fire department establishes a fundraiser to assist the family of an injured firefighter (Cheif Rholetter) on [GoFundMe]
• WARNING: NO TRAILERS OVER 30 FEET: NCDOT, Highway Patrol offer no solution on reoccurring Cullasaja Gorge issue [The Highlander]
Franklin Town Council - January 2022 Regular Meeting
Asheville Citizen-Times COVID-19 Tracker [Asheville Citizen-Times]
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Special Section: Russia Invades Ukraine (Day 5)
(sharing of a particular source is not an endorsement)
Day Five • Leaked document shows Russia is preparing for 'a massive medical emergency' of Ukraine war casualties [Yahoo! News]
• U.S. embassy urges Americans in Russia to consider leaving “immediately” [AXIOS]
• Russian forces appear to shift to siege warfare in Ukraine- U.S. official [Reuters]
• The new world order [The Frontier Post (pro-Russian website)] [Russian Version]
• Russian Invasion of Ukraine - «Raw Combat Footage Compilation» [Youtube (AgeRestriction -Log in required)]
• Ukrainian sailor reportedly tries to sink Russian oligarch’s yacht: ‘I would do it again’ [Yahoo! News]
• A Team Of American And British Special Forces Veterans Are Preparing To Join Ukraine’s Fight Against Russia [Buss Feed News]
• Potent protest: Bars drop Russian vodka, promote Ukraine’s [The Intelligencer Wheeling News-Register]
Putin puts Russia’s nuclear weapons on high alert - BBC News
Putin puts Russia's nuclear forces on high alert | DW News
Putin's New World. Why Did Russia Attack Ukraine?
Ukraine: 11th Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly (Scheduled for 10am)
Additional News Sources
• Russia Launches invasion of Ukraine [BBC Liveblog]
https://www.kyivpost.com/
https://ukranews.com/en/news
https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cx1m7zg0gzdt/ukraine
https://www.aljazeera.com/where/ukraine/
https://www.ukrinform.net/
https://www.cgtn.com/europe
NΞMICO NΞTWORK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNNFS1bhD94Qc5vSARGOo6w
EarthCam Live: Kyiv, Ukraine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cyQPN5xQtU
Russian Invasion Of Ukraine | LIVE | Situation Room | INDB | Russian Military Advancing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq8iFW7BRNA
Al Jazeera English | Live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-upyPouRrB8
DW News livestream | Headline news from around the world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9KZGs1MtP4
LIVE MULTI-CAM: EXPLOSIONS NEAR KIEV - UKRAINE/RUSSIA/DONETSK/LUHANSK + TWITTER FEEDS/NEWS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncfpk4OFkXE
Putin announces 'special operation' in Donbass | SPECIAL COVERAGE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0I5eglJMRI
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National and World News Roundup
• ‘Potential information security incident’: Bridgestone plants send employees home [WRDW-TV (Augusta, GA)]
• Lawmakers approve $10k raises for many New Mexico teachers [AP News]
• Researchers unveil millions of new galaxies in new map of the universe [Courthouse News Service]
• Trump took documents to Mar-a-Lago that are so sensitive they may not be described in public, report says [Yahoo! News]
• Conflicts to Watch in 2022 [Council on Foreign Relations]
Meet The Press Broadcast (Full) - Feb. 27
Global National: Feb. 27, 2022 | Russia and Ukraine agree to 1st talks since attack began
NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast - February 27th, 2022
PBS NewsHour Full Episode February 27th, 2022
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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 4:39pm CET, 25 February 2022, there have been 430,257,564 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,922,049 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 21 February 2022, a total of 10,407,359,583 vaccine doses have been administered.
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 4:39pm CET, 25 February 2022, there have been 78,050,838 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 935,093 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 18 February 2022, a total of 534,803,540 vaccine doses have been administered.
• New Research Points to Wuhan Market as Pandemic Origin [New York Times]
• A Kennedy’s Crusade Against Covid Vaccines Anguishes Family and Friends [New York Times]
• Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in the environment and animal samples of the Huanan Seafood Market [Research Square (click "Full Text"]
• COVID-19 pandemic forces a nationwide reckoning for American churches on how to safely reopen [ABC News]
• Why do people die from COVID-19?[Science]
• Monitoring COVID-19
• COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs Part I [Reddit]
• COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs Part II [Reddit]
[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]
• Variant: 21L (Omicron) also known as BA.2[CoVariants]
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Science and Technology News Roundup
• Google temporarily disables Google Maps live traffic data in Ukraine [Reuters]
• Elon Musk says SpaceX’s Starlink satellites now active over Ukraine [AXIOS]
• Linus Torvalds prepares to move the Linux kernel to modern C [ZD Net]
We are creating an IT army. We need digital talents. All operational tasks will be given here: https://t.co/Ie4ESfxoSn. There will be tasks for everyone. We continue to fight on the cyber front. The first task is on the channel for cyber specialists.
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 26, 2022
• Anonymous Hackers Claim Responsibility for Russian Government Website Outages, Hacked State TV Broadcasts [Mediaite]
• Sickle cell: ‘The revolutionary gene-editing treatment that gave me new life’ [BBC News]
• The 8 Best Linux Secure Phones for Privacy and Security [Ubuntu Pit]
• Russia may deny US participation in Venera-D project due to sanctions - Roscosmos chief [TASS (Russian News Agency)]
• Information Warfare: They Phished The Wrong Guy [Strategy Page]
• Kyiv: full consensus for disconnecting Russia from SWIFT has been achieved, the process has begun [UA Wire]
Podcasts and Long Form Videos
Anything from educational, entertainment, history, current events and technology
The Ways Russia's Invasion Ukraine Will Affect Space Programs - Deep Space Updates Feb 27th | Scott Manley
SpaceX Starship Updates, 2 Starlink Missions, Cygnus and Roman Space Telescope on Falcon Heavy
Long March-8 Y2 launches 22 satellites
Mark Zuckerberg: Meta, Facebook, Instagram, and the Metaverse | Lex Fridman Podcast #267
A Video I Wish I Didn’t Have To Make...
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On This Day
February 28th is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 306 days remain until the end of the year (307 in leap years). It is the last day of February in common years and the penultimate day of February in leap years. It is also the last day of meteorological winter in Northern Hemisphere in common 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)
202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.
1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
1835 – Elias Lönnrot signed and dated the first version of the Kalevala, the so-called foreword to the Old Kalevala.
1922 – The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
1925 – The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
1947 – February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians.
1948 – Christiansborg Cross-Roads shooting in the Gold Coast, when a British police officer opens fire on a march of ex-servicemen, killing three of them and sparking major riots and looting in Accra.
1953 – James Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April's Nature (pub. April 2).
1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork river. The driver and 26 children die in what remains one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history.
1959 – Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
1966 – A NASA T-38 Talon crashes into the McDonnell Aircraft factory while attempting a poor-visibility landing at Lambert Field, St. Louis, killing astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett.
1972 – China–United States relations: The United States and China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
1980 – Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum.
1983 – The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 106 million viewers. It still holds the record for the highest viewership of a season finale.
1985 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers in the highest loss of life for the RUC on a single day.
1986 – Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
1991 – The first Gulf War ends.
1993 – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group's leader David Koresh. Four ATF agents and six Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.
1995 – Former Australian Liberal party leader John Hewson resigns from the Australian parliament almost two years after losing the 1993 Australian federal election.
1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 3,000 deaths.
1997 – GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way.
1997 – A Turkish military memorandum resulted with collapse of the government in Turkey.
2001 – The 2001 Nisqually earthquake, having a moment magnitude of 6.8, with epicenter in the southern Puget Sound, damages Seattle metropolitan area.
2002 – During the religious violence in Gujarat, 97 people are killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in the Gulbarg Society massacre.
2004 – Over one million Taiwanese participate in the 228 Hand-in-Hand rally form a 500-kilometre (310 mi) long human chain to commemorate the February 28 Incident in 1947.
2005 – A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127.
2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since Pope Gregory XII, in 1415.
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Published at 5:00am on Monday, February 28, 2022
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
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