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
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.
---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.
---END SPONSOR SEGMENT------
Back to Top
Local Weather
General Forecast Through Saturday Night
Franklin Area
Today
Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid 70s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 50s. Winds out of the south around 5 mph becoming calm before midnight.
Friday
Sunny, with highs near 80. Winds out of the southwest early in the morning increasing to southwest 10 to 15 mph by midmorning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Friday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1am. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid 50s. Winds out of the south 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25.
Saturday
Showers likely, mainly before noon. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid 70s. Windy. Chance of rain is 60%.
Saturday Night
Clear, with lows in the mid 40s.
Highlands Plateau
Today
Patchy fog between 7am and 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with highs in the upper 60s. Winds out of the southwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with lows in the lower 50s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph.
Friday
Sunny, with highs in the lower 70s. Winds out of the southwest 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Friday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1am. Partly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 50s. Winds out of the southwest 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Saturday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before noon, then a chance of showers between noon and 2pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. Windy. Chance of rain is 70%.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 40s. Windy.
Otto and South Central Macon County
Today
Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid 70s. Light winds out of the south early in the morning increasing to come out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph by midmorning.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 50s. Winds out of the south around 5 mph.
Friday
Sunny, with highs in the upper 70s. Light and variable winds early in the morning increasing to come out of the southwest 10 to 15 mph by midmorning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Friday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1am. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 50s. Winds out of the south 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as 25 mph.
Saturday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1pm, then a slight chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 70s. Windy. Chance of rain is 70%.
Saturday Night
Clear, with lows in the mid 40s.
Nantahala Area
Today
Mostly sunny, with highs near 70. Light winds out of the southwest early in the morning increasing to 10 to 15 mph by midmorning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 50s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph.
Friday
Sunny, with highs in the mid 70s. Winds out of the southwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after midnight. Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 50s. Winds out of the south 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Saturday
Showers likely, mainly before 1pm. Mostly sunny, with highs near 70. Windy. Chance of rain is 70%.
Saturday Night
Clear, with lows in the mid 40s.
Back to Top
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Areas of fog have developed across parts of the Piedmont and NC mountains this morning, some of which have been locally dense. Visibilities of one mile or less will be possible through mid- morning, especially across the SC and NC Piedmont where trends are being monitored for a Dense Fog Advisory.
Use caution if you encounter fog while driving. Slow down and leave extra distance ahead of you in case a sudden stop is needed. Use low beam headlights and allow extra time to reach your destination.
Latest US Drought Monitor Map for North Carolina.
Space Weather Mystery Farside Blast and Earth-Directed Storms Launch | Solar Storm Forecast: 14 March 2023
Back to Top
Back to Top
Almanac
24 Hour Smoke Forecast
No known appreciable smoke field will be crossing Macon County today or tonight.
PM2.5 AQI is 55 (MODERATE) for most of the county, and the ridges and other higher elevations PM2.5 AQI is 55 (MODERATE)
Fire and Smoke Map
Local Air Monitor
Pollen levels are expected to be in the high range (10.6 out of 12) today with Maple, Juniper, and Oak being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the high range (11.0 out of 12).
Record Weather Events for March 23rd
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 82°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 2011
Lowest Temperature 15°F in Highlandsin 2004
Greatest One-Day Rain 4.05 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1952
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 0.1 inches in Highlands in 1950
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 23rd in North Carolina
Highest Temperature 96°F in Tarboro, Edgecombe County in 1907
Lowest Temperature 4°F in Laurel Springs, Ashe County in 1960
Greatest Rainfall 4.80 inches in Brevard, Transylvania County in 1903
Greatest Snowfall 17.0 inches in Celo, Yancey County in 1981
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
Back to Top
Back to Top
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.
Back to Top
Local and State News
• With broad, bipartisan, support, Medicaid expansion clears another hurdle in NC [WRAL-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• NC House budget bill coming out in days. What being early means for raises and more [Raleigh News and Observer]
• NCDOT gets $1.5 million grant to send real-time alerts to drivers [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• Help for mill workers [Smoky Mountain News]
• NC Republican lawmakers take aim at COVID vaccine mandates [BPR]
Proposed State Budget for 2023-2025 [Download PDF]
• Macon County Board of Commissioners March 2023 Regular Meeting [Macon Media]
Back to Top
National and World News Roundup
xxx | xxx
• Fed Walks Tightrope Between Inflation and Bank Turmoil—but for How Long? [WSJ (video and audio)] [WSJ (article archive)]
• Fed hikes rates by a quarter percentage point, indicates increases are near an end [CNBC]
• Florida governor shifts tone on Ukraine war in new interview, calls Putin a war criminal [CNN]
• Confirmed tornado in LA county damages multiple buildings [SF GATE]
• NY grand jury hearing on Trump hush money case delayed [BBC News]
Washington Today (3-22-23): Fed raises interest rates 0.25%, says U.S. banks are 'sound & resilient' | C-SPAN RADIO
Global National: March 22, 2023| Liberal MP faces questions about conversation with Chinese diplomat
Nightly News Full Broadcast (March 22nd)
PBS NewsHour full episode, (March 22, 2022
Back to Top
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 6:06pm CET, 21 March 2023, there have been 102,544,598 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 1,114,970 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 10 February 2023, a total of 662,514,513 vaccine doses have been administered.
Globally, as of 6:06pm CET, 21 March 2023, there have been 761,071,826 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,879,677 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 19 March 2023, a total of 13,244,177,602 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]
Back to Top
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
Back to Top
Special Section: The Russo-Ukrainian War
(sharing of a particular source is not an endorsement)
• Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 22 [Institute for the Study of War] [PDF for March 22nd]
• 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]
Back to Top
Back to Top
On This Day
March 23rd is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 283 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)
1400 – The Trần dynasty of Vietnam is deposed, after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule, by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official.
1540 – Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
1568 – The Peace of Longjumeau is signed, ending the second phase of the French Wars of Religion.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his speech – "Give me liberty, or give me death!" – at St. John's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia.
1801 – Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death inside his bedroom at St. Michael's Castle.
1806 – After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocean, explorers Lewis and Clark and their "Corps of Discovery" begin their arduous journey home.
1821 – Greek War of Independence: Battle and fall of city of Kalamata.
1839 – A massive earthquake destroys the former capital Inwa of the Konbaung dynasty, present-day Myanmar.
1848 – The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.
1857 – Elisha Otis's first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway New York City.
1862 – American Civil War: The First Battle of Kernstown, Virginia, marks the start of Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign. Although a Confederate defeat, the engagement distracts Federal efforts to capture Richmond.
1868 – The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law.
1879 – War of the Pacific: The Battle of Topáter, the first battle of the war is fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru.
1885 – Sino-French War: Chinese victory in the Battle of Phu Lam Tao near Hưng Hóa, northern Vietnam.
1888 – In England, The Football League, the world's oldest professional association football league, meets for the first time.
1889 – The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is established by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian, British India.
1901 – Emilio Aguinaldo, only President of the First Philippine Republic, is captured at Palanan, Isabela by the forces of General Frederick Funston.
1905 – Eleftherios Venizelos calls for Crete's union with Greece, and begins what is to be known as the Theriso revolt.
1909 – Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.
1913 – A tornado outbreak kills more than 240 people in the central United States, while an ongoing flood in the Ohio River watershed was killing 650 people.
1918 – First World War: On the third day of the German Spring Offensive, the 10th Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment is annihilated with many of the men becoming prisoners of war
1919 – In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.
1931 – Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged for the killing of a deputy superintendent of police during the Indian independence movement.
1933 – The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act of 1933, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.
1935 – Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
1939 – The Hungarian air force attacks the headquarters of the Slovak air force in Spišská Nová Ves, killing 13 people and beginning the Slovak–Hungarian War.
1940 – The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All-India Muslim League.
1956 – Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world. This date is now celebrated as Republic Day in Pakistan.
1965 – NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States' first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).
1977 – The first of The Nixon Interviews (12 will be recorded over four weeks) is videotaped with British journalist David Frost interviewing former United States President Richard Nixon about the Watergate scandal and the Nixon tapes.
1978 – The first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon for peacekeeping mission along the Blue Line.
1980 – Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador gives his famous speech appealing to men of the El Salvadoran armed forces to stop killing the Salvadorans.
1982 – Guatemala's government, headed by Fernando Romeo Lucas García is overthrown in a military coup by right-wing General Efraín Ríos Montt.
1983 – Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.
1988 – Angolan and Cuban forces defeat South Africa in the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.
1991 – The Revolutionary United Front, with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia, invades Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow Joseph Saidu Momoh, sparking the 11-year Sierra Leone Civil War.
1994 – At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated by Mario Aburto Martínez.
1994 – A United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 aircraft collides with a USAF C-130 at Pope Air Force Base and then crashes, killing 24 United States Army soldiers on the ground. This later became known as the Green Ramp disaster.
1994 – Aeroflot Flight 593 crashed into the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, killing 75.
1996 – Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
1999 – Gunmen assassinate Paraguay's Vice President Luis María Argaña.
2001 – The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
2003 – Battle of Nasiriyah, first major conflict during the invasion of Iraq.
2008 – Official opening of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, India
2009 – FedEx Express Flight 80: A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 flying from Guangzhou, China crashes at Tokyo's Narita International Airport, killing both the captain and the co-pilot.
2010 – The Affordable Care Act becomes law in the United States.
2018 – President of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigns from the presidency amid a mass corruption scandal before certain impeachment by the opposition-majority Congress of Peru.
2019 – The Kazakh capital of Astana was renamed to Nur-Sultan.
2019 – The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces capture the town of Baghuz in Eastern Syria, declaring military victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant after four years of fighting, although the group maintains a scattered presence and sleeper cells across Syria and Iraq.
2020 – Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the United Kingdom into its first national lockdown in response to COVID-19.
2021 – A container ship runs aground and obstructs the Suez Canal for six days.
Back to Top
Support Macon Media
If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.
Or, if you prefer Pay Pal, try PayPal.me/MaconMedia
Published at 5:00am on Thursday, March 23, 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.
Posts
0 comments :
Post a Comment