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Weather
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Almanac
Macon Calendar
Local and StateNews
Russo-UKrainian War Updates
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
Science and Technology
On This Day
Support Macon Media
GENERAL OUTLOOK
Dry high pressure moves east and off the Carolina coast today as a warm front crosses Tennessee bringing small shower chances to the mountains and foothills today. A warming southerly flow of air will then be seen for Thursday and Friday followed by a cold frontal passage on Saturday. Another rain maker crosses our region early next week.
Spring begins today at 5.24pm. Tomorrow will be the first full day of spring.
• March Equinox Fun Facts [xxx]
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Local Weather
General Forecast Through Friday Night
Franklin Area
Today
Rain likely, mainly between 11am and 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the upper 50s. Calm winds. Chance of rain is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid 40s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday
Sunny, with highs in the mid 70s. Light winds out of the south early in the morning increasing and shifting to come out of the southwest 10 to 15 mph by midmorning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Thursday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 50s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 70s.
Friday Night
Showers, mainly after midnight. Lows in the mid 50s. Chance of rain is 80%.
Highlands Plateau
Today
A 50 percent chance of rain, mainly after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with highs near 50. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid 40s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday
Mostly sunny, with highs near 70. Winds out of the southwest 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Thursday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the lower 50s. Winds out of the southwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with highs near 70. Windy.
Friday Night
Showers, mainly after midnight. The rain could be heavy at times. Lows in the mid 50s. Chance of rain is 80%.
Otto and South Central Macon County
Today
A 50 percent chance of rain, mainly between 7am and 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-to-upper 50s. Light and variable winds. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 40s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday
Sunny, with highs in the mid 70s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 15 mph early in the morning increasing to come out of the southwest by midmorning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Thursday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 50s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid 70s.
Friday Night
Showers, mainly after midnight. Lows in the mid-to-upper 50s. Chance of rain is 80%.
Nantahala Area
Today
Rain likely, mainly between 9am and 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs near 54. Light south wind. Chance of rain is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight
A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the upper 40s. Winds out of the east 5 to 10 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Thursday
Sunny, with highs near 70. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Thursday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 50s. Winds out of the southeast 5 to 10 mph.
Friday
Partly sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 70s.
Friday Night
Showers, mainly after 10pm. The rain could be heavy at times. Lows in the mid-to-upper 50s. Chance of rain is 80%.
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Hazards and Tropical Weather
Hazardous weather is not expected today.
Latest US Drought Monitor Map for North Carolina.
Space Weather Mystery Farside Blast and Earth-Directed Storms Launch | Solar Storm Forecast: 14 March 2023
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Almanac
24 Hour Smoke Forecast
No known appreciable smoke field will be crossing Macon County today or tonight.
PM2.5 AQI is 51 (MODERATE) for most of the county, and the ridges and other higher elevations PM2.5 AQI is 51 (MODERATE)
Fire and Smoke Map
Local Air Monitor
Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium range (5.1 out of 12) today with Maple, Juniper, and Oak being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the high range (10.1 out of 12).
Record Weather Events for March 22nd
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 85°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 2017
Lowest Temperature 10°F in Franklin in 1965
Greatest One-Day Rain 3.49 inches in Highlands in 1955
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 3.5 inches in Highlands in 1981
Weather Extremes for Macon County for the month of March Data available from 1872
Highest Temperature 87°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 03-29-2020
Lowest Temperature -7°F in Highlands on 03-07-1899
Greatest Rainfall 6.61 inches in Highlands on 03-26-2021
Greatest Snowfall 25.5 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 03-13-1993
Record Weather Events for March 22nd in North Carolina
Highest Temperature 95°F in Belhaven, Beaufort County in 1921
Lowest Temperature 0°F in Mount Mitchell, Yancey County in 2013
Greatest Rainfall 4.70 inches in Henderson, Vance County in 1903
Greatest Snowfall 20.0 inches in Grandfather Mountain, Avery County in 2001
Weather Extremes for North Carolina for the month of March Data available from 1872
Highest Temperature 98°F in Belhaven, Beaufort County on 03-27-1921
Lowest Temperature -11°F in Mount Mitchell, Yancey County on 03-03-1980
Greatest Rainfall 10.10 inches in Lake Toxaway, Transylvania County on 03-04-1979
Greatest Snowfall 36.00 in Mount Mitchell, Yancey County on 03-13-1993
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Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)
Friends of the Macon County Public Library Sets Used Bookstore Half-price Sale March 31 and April 1
WHAT: Friends of the Macon County Public Library (FOL) Used Bookstore Half-Price Sale
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 31 and April 1, 2023
WHERE: Friends of the Macon County Public Library Used Bookstore, 115 Highlands Rd., Franklin
WHY: Raise money to support programs and events at the library
No events have been submitted for Macon Calendar.
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Local and State News
• Missing: Macon County authorities ask public for help locating teenager [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• North Carolina Is Working On Cleaning Up Voter Rolls [ WRGC-AM/FM (Sylva, NC) ]
• Transparency bill advances at state legislature, in process lacking transparency [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
• Under the Dome Updates: Domestic violence victims could be allowed to testify remotely [Raleigh News and Observer]
• Q&A: Why did the State Employees Association of North Carolina sever ties with the SEIU? [BPR]
Proposed State Budget for 2023-2025 [Download PDF]
• Macon County Board of Commissioners March 2023 Regular Meeting [Macon Media]
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National and World News Roundup
The System that Fuels Media Negativity | Wendover Productions
• Bomb Threat Called In to New York Court Where Trump Hearing Held [Bloomberg]
• The Legal Intricacies That Could Make or Break the Case Against Trump [New York Times]
Legal expert warns this is 'most serious violation of the rule of law’ | Fox Business
Schiff: GOP targeting Manhattan DA is right from ‘autocratic playbook’ | MSNBC
LIVE: Biden to announce new national monuments at conservation summit | NBC News
• A Proclamation on Establishment of the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument [The White House]
• A Proclamation on the Establishment of the Castner Range National Monument, 2023 [The White House]
• Biden designates area sacred to tribes as largest national monument of his presidency [CNN]
• Group of kids stops man from kidnapping student at Maryland school bus stop, police say [NBC News]
• The potentially deadly Candida auris fungus is spreading quickly in the U.S. [NPR]
• Video shows Va. deputies pile on top of Irvo Otieno before his death [Washington Post]
• Fox News producer files explosive lawsuits against the network, alleging she was coerced into providing misleading Dominion testimony [CNN]
• Death toll rises after earthquake hits Afghanistan, Pakistan [Al Jazeera]
• The FBI raided a notable journalist's home. Rolling Stone didn't tell readers why [Rolling Stone]
• Press freedom is under attack in Europe. Greece is Exhibit A [Courthouse News Service]
• Trump seeks to block Georgia election interference criminal charges [CNBC]
• Man gets 4 years for attacking police at Jan. 6 Capitol riot [AP News]
Washington Today (3-21-23): Speaker says House GOP not focused on possible Donald Trump indictment | C-SPAN RADIO
Global National: March 21, 2023 | Katie Telford to testify in election interference probe
Nightly News Full Broadcast (March 21st)
PBS NewsHour full episode, (March 21, 2022
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COVID-19 News and Updates
Here is a section on COVID-19. It includes local, regional, state, national, and global items.
COVID-19 Numbers for Macon County:
• WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard [World Health Organization]
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 11:31am CET, 16 March 2023, there have been 102,417,985 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 1,113,229 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 10 February 2023, a total of 662,514,513 vaccine doses have been administered.
Globally, as of 11:31am CET, 16 March 2023, there have been 760,360,956 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,873,477 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 12 March 2023, a total of 13,232,780,775 vaccine doses have been administered.
• How immune are we? Why answering this question is essential for post-pandemic life [ Los Angeles Times ]
• An observational multi-centric COVID-19 sequelae study among health care workers [ The Lancet ]
• Newly released Chinese Covid data points to infected animals in Wuhan [ The Guardian ]
• From addiction treatment to nursing homes, end of COVID emergency will bring changes across U.S. health care system [ CBS News ]
• Ignoring experts, China's sudden zero-COVID exit cost lives [ ABC News ]
As COVID-19 protection measures go away, high-risk Americans remain concerned | ABC News
TWiV 992: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin | Microbe TV
• TWiV 993: COVID-19 drives autoimmunity [Microbe TV]
• TWiV 992: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin [Microbe TV]
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Science and Technology News Roundup
• RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid [CNN]
• Hyundai Promises To Keep Buttons in Cars Because Touchscreen Controls Are Dangerous [The Drive]
• Former Meta recruiter claims she got paid $190,000 a year to do ‘nothing’ amid company’s layoffs [UK Independent]
• Amazon kills DPReview, the best camera review site on the web [TechCrunch]
• More than $1.6M stolen in General Bytes hack [SC Magazine]
• Judge dismisses gamers’ claims that Microsoft-Activision merger will spoil gaming [ARS TECHNICA]
• Z-Library returns, aims to avoid seizures by giving each user a secret URL [ARS TECHNICA]
Evergreen Links
• Red Dead Online player bids farewell to Google Stadia save by releasing horse they named after their departed daughter [Games Radar]
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History 69 - Twilight of the Æsir
Hardcore History: AddendumEP24 Manifesting the Muse with Rick | Dan Carlin
• Neal Stephenson’s Lamina1 drops white paper on building the open metaverse [Venture Beat] [PDF of White paper]
• Yes, the Great Books Make Us Better People [New York Times]
How Do We Know What We Know? Philosophy of Science | Fraser Cain
Podcasts and Long Form Videos (History, Culture, Science, Space, Technology and Current Events)
Anything covering educational, entertainment, history, current events, and technology topics
The Level1 Show March 22 2023: Bring Out Your Dead (Google Projects)! | Level1 Techs
Amazon Shutters DP Reviews - DTNS 4481 | Daily Tech News
How the Internet was Stolen | Then and Now
Is Aquaponics the Future of Agriculture? | Undecided with Matt Ferrell
Why Construction Projects Always Go Over Budget | Practical Engineering
Strange Object OJ 287 Was Supposed to Erupt in 2022, But Didn't | Antov Petrov
What Is Energy? | Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains… | Star Talk
The Top 10 Astronomical Discoveries of 2022 (part 1) | ParallaxNick
The Top 10 Astronomical Discoveries of 2022 (part 2) | ParallaxNick
Sam Harris: Trump, Pandemic, Twitter, Elon, Bret, IDW, Kanye, AI and UFOs | Lex Fridman Podcast #365
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Special Section: The Russo-Ukrainian War
(sharing of a particular source is not an endorsement)
• Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 21 [Institute for the Study of War] [PDF for March 21th]
• Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 392 [Al Jazeera]
• Russo-Ukrainian War. Day 391: Blasts in occupied Crimea [Euromaiden Press]
• Putin warns UK over depleted uranium tank shells for Ukraine [Al Jazeera]
• Japan PM vows continued support for Ukraine in unannounced visit [Kyodo News]
• U.S. Abrams tanks to make it to Ukraine this fall: report [TVP World]
• How Ukraine has maintained its energy supply despite the war [DW News]
• Ukraine to clinch first IMF loan to nation at war [BBC News]
Ukraine - Living with war | DW Documentary
How Putin’s meetings with Xi could impact the war in Ukraine | NBC News
Retired Navy SEAL: Ukrainians will go on the offensive as soon as the roads allow | Rock Rachon
Japan and China top-level visits to Russia and Ukraine show global re-alignments | DW News
Japan’s Fumio Kishida heads to Kyiv to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy | Al Jazeera
News from Russian or pro-Russian outlets or Video About the Russian Perspective
Russia is Annihilating Ukraine's Last Soldiers | Straight Calls with Douglas Macgregor
• Multiple agreements crown historic Putin-Xi meeting [Russia Today]
• Xi Jinping takes beautiful revenge on Biden for Pelosi's Taiwan visit [Pravda]
• Russia investigates Ukrainian drone attack on its oil pumping station [TASS Russian News Agency]
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On This Day
March 22 is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 284 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)
106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea.
235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century.
871 – Æthelred of Wessex is defeated by a Danish invasion army at the Battle of Marton.
1185 – Battle of Yashima: the Japanese forces of the Taira clan are defeated by the Minamoto clan.
1312 – Vox in excelso: Pope Clement V dissolves the Order of the Knights Templar.
1508 – Ferdinand II of Aragon commissions Amerigo Vespucci chief navigator of the Spanish Empire.
1621 – The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags.
1622 – Jamestown massacre: Algonquians kill 347 English settlers around Jamestown, Virginia, a third of the colony's population, during the Second Anglo-Powhatan War.
1631 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlaws the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables.
1638 – Anne Hutchinson is expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony for religious dissent.
1739 – Nader Shah occupies Delhi in India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne.
1765 – The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act that introduces a tax to be levied directly on its American colonies.
1784 – The Emerald Buddha is moved with great ceremony to its current location in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.
1794 – The Slave Trade Act of 1794 bans the export of slaves from the United States, and prohibits American citizens from outfitting a ship for the purpose of importing slaves.
1829 – In the London Protocol, the three protecting powers (United Kingdom, France and Russia) establish the borders of Greece.
1849 – The Austrians defeat the Piedmontese at the Battle of Novara.
1871 – In North Carolina, William Woods Holden becomes the first governor of a U.S. state to be removed from office by impeachment.
1873 – The Spanish National Assembly abolishes slavery in Puerto Rico.
1894 – The Stanley Cup ice hockey competition is held for the first time, in Montreal, Canada.
1895 – Before the Société pour L'Encouragement à l'Industrie, brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière demonstrate movie film technology publicly for the first time.
1896 – Charilaos Vasilakos wins the first modern Olympic marathon race with a time of three hours and 18 minutes.
1906 – The first England vs France rugby union match is played at Parc des Princes in Paris.
1913 – Mystic Phan Xích Long, the self-proclaimed Emperor of Vietnam, is arrested for organising a revolt against the colonial rule of French Indochina, which was nevertheless carried out by his supporters the following day.
1916 – Yuan Shikai abdicates as Emperor of China, restoring the Republic and returning to the Presidency.
1920 – Azeri and Turkish army soldiers with participation of Kurdish gangs attack the Armenian inhabitants of Shushi (Nagorno Karabakh).
1933 – Cullen–Harrison Act: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an amendment to the Volstead Act, legalizing the manufacture and sale of "3.2 beer" (3.2% alcohol by weight, approximately 4% alcohol by volume) and light wines.
1933 – Nazi Germany opens its first concentration camp, Dachau.
1934 – The first Masters Tournament is held at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.
1939 – Germany takes Memel from Lithuania.
1942 – World War II: In the Mediterranean Sea, the Royal Navy confronts Italy's Regia Marina in the Second Battle of Sirte.
1943 – World War II: The entire village of Khatyn (in what is the present-day Republic of Belarus) is burnt alive by Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118.
1945 – World War II: The city of Hildesheim, Germany is heavily damaged in a British air raid, though it had little military significance and Germany was on the verge of final defeat.
1945 – The Arab League is founded when a charter is adopted in Cairo, Egypt.
1946 – The United Kingdom grants full independence to Transjordan.
1960 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes receive the first patent for a laser.
1963 – The Beatles release their debut album Please Please Me.
1972 – The United States Congress sends the Equal Rights Amendment to the states for ratification.
1972 – In Eisenstadt v. Baird, the United States Supreme Court decides that unmarried persons have the right to possess contraceptives.
1975 – A fire at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in Decatur, Alabama causes a dangerous reduction in cooling water levels.
1978 – Karl Wallenda of The Flying Wallendas dies after falling off a tight-rope suspended between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1982 – NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia is launched from the Kennedy Space Center on its third mission, STS-3.
1988 – The United States Congress votes to override President Ronald Reagan's veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987.
1992 – USAir Flight 405 crashes shortly after takeoff from New York City's LaGuardia Airport, leading to a number of studies into the effect that ice has on aircraft.
1992 – Fall of communism in Albania: The Democratic Party of Albania wins a decisive majority in the parliamentary election.
1993 – The Intel Corporation ships the first Pentium chips (80586), featuring a 60 MHz clock speed, 100+ MIPS, and a 64 bit data path.
1995 – Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returns to earth after setting a record of 438 days in space.
1997 – Tara Lipinski, aged 14 years and nine months, becomes the youngest women's World Figure Skating Champion.
1997 – Comet Hale–Bopp reaches its closest approach to Earth at 1.315 AU.
2004 – Ahmed Yassin, co-founder and leader of the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas, two bodyguards, and nine civilian bystanders are killed in the Gaza Strip when hit by Israeli Air Force Hellfire missiles.
2006 – Three Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) hostages are freed by British forces in Baghdad after 118 days of captivity and the murder of their colleague from the U.S., Tom Fox.
2013 – At least 37 people are killed and 200 are injured after a fire destroys a camp containing Burmese refugees near Ban Mae, Thailand.
2016 – Three suicide bombers kill 32 people and injure 316 in the 2016 Brussels bombings at the airport and at the Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station.
2017 – A terrorist attack in London near the Houses of Parliament leaves four people dead and at least 20 injured.
2017 – Syrian civil war: Five hundred members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are airlifted south of the Euphrates by United States Air Force helicopters, beginning the Battle of Tabqa.
2019 – The Special Counsel investigation on the 2016 United States presidential election concludes when Robert Mueller submits his report to the United States Attorney General.
2019 – Two buses crashed in Kitampo, a town north of Ghana's capital Accra, killing at least 50 people.
2020 – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces the country's largest ever self-imposed curfew, in an effort to fight the spread of COVID-19.
2020 – Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announces a national lockdown and the country's first ever self-imposed curfew, in an effort to fight the spread of COVID-19.
2021 – Ten people are killed in a mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado.
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Published at 5:00am on Wednesday, March 22, 2023
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.
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