• ...OUTDOOR BURN BAN IN EFFECT...
• [Public Safety Notifications]
• [SEVERE WEATHER CHANNEL]
• You can now support Macon Media with a $1.99 monthly Facebook subscription at [LINK]
NWS GENERAL OUTLOOK
1. Mostly dry through Saturday with fire weather concerns sticking around. Hot conditions will return each afternoon with highs east of the mountains flirting with records on Saturday.
2. A cold front will bring only spotty beneficial rainfall to the mountains Saturday night into Sunday, with significantly cooler temperatures to follow early next week. Some frost is possible over the mountains Sunday and Monday night, so precautions might be needed to protect sensitive vegetation. Fire Weather concerns will otherwise continue, as very low afternoon RH returns.
3. Hot and dry conditions will return during the latter half of next week, with no relief in site for drought or fire weather conditions.
WEATHER SPONSOR
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DAY SPONSOR
Macon Media is being underwritten today by Bourbon & Bacon. (Formerly Franklin Office Supply)
Visit their store at 161 Highlands Road in Franklin or check out their website at bourbonandbaconfs.com
GENERAL FORECAST
(since this is a quick forecast intended to cover the whole county, bear in mind that higher elevations may experience cooler temperatures than this and the lower elevations may experience higher temperatures than those in the forecast)
..TODAY....Sunny. Highs around 80. Northwest winds around 5 mph.
..TONIGHT....Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s. Northwest winds around 5 mph, becoming south after midnight.
..SATURDAY....Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.
..SATURDAY NIGHT....Mostly cloudy. A chance of showers in the evening, then showers likely after midnight. Lows in the mid 40s. West winds 5 to 10 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.
..SUNDAY....Mostly cloudy with showers likely in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon. Much cooler with highs in the upper 50s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.
..SUNDAY NIGHT....Clear. Lows in the upper 30s.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER
A statewide burn ban issued by the North Carolina Forest Service is currently in place. Open burning of any kind is illegal.
...INCREASED FIRE DANGER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...
Relative humidity values will fall below 30 percent again this afternoon across the region. With low fuel moisture, the ongoing drought, and favorable meteorological conditions, fires will be able to catch and spread rapidly.
A statewide burn ban issued by the North Carolina Forest Service is currently in place. Open burning of any kind is illegal.
NEWS UPDATES
(Links aggregated to show what various news outlets are reporting)
State and Local News
Hundreds attend public hearing on national forest 'Roadless Rule' rollback | WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)
• April 2026 Meeting of the Macon County Board of Commissioners [Macon Media]
• Is NC catching enough Medicaid fraud? Lawmakers question state officials [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
• Some NC schools will close May 1 due to NCAE mass teacher protest in Raleigh [SMoky Mountain News]
• Shigella bacteria poses public health threat, CDC says: What we know [Asheville Citizen-Times]
Iran War News
Can the U.S. Load All the Empty Super Tankers | Why Is an American Carrier Beating Around the BUSH? | What's Going on With Shipping?
• Iran Update Special Report, April 16, 2026 [Institute for the Study of War]
• AP News Liveblog [AP News]
• Jerusalem Post Liveblog [Jerusalem Post]
• BBC Liveblog [BBC News]
• Al Jazeera Liveblog [Al Jazeera]
• Fox News Liveblog [Fox News]
World News
Are we seeing the end of LIV Golf? | Sky News
• Trump Turns Against Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Broadening Clash With Europe [HIndustan Times]
• Can Africa’s informal economy become the continent’s next investment frontier? {Business Africa} [Africa News]
• Macron, Starmer chair meeting to mull European post-war mission in Strait of Hormuz [France 24]
• Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 16, 2026 [Institute for the Study of War]
New defense deals strengthen Ukraine’s military ties | World News Tonight | TVP World
National News
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - April 16, 2026 | ABC News
• County prosecutor charges ICE agent with assault for pointing gun at people on Minneapolis highway [AP News]
• RFK Jr. grilled over vaccines, MAHA in back-to-back hearings: Key takeaways [The Hill]
• Hegseth shares air rescue group’s ‘Pulp Fiction’ prayer at Pentagon service [Reuters]
• Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons submits resignation letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin [Fox News]
Financial News
Stock Rally Stalls as Markets Await Iran Ceasefire | The Asia Trade 4/17/2026 | Bloomberg Television
• Oil Drops as War Nears 50-Day Mark and Trump Strikes Upbeat Tone [Yahoo Finance]
• Trump says gas prices ‘not very high’ as most U.S. voters blame him for price spike [CNBC]
• Chinese carmaker patents voice-controlled 'in-vehicle toilet' [BBC News]
Science and Technology
Earth’s Core Should Be Impossible. A New State of Matter Explains It. | PBS Space Time
• New undersea cable cutter risks Internet’s backbone [Ars Technica]
• Pentagon Reportedly Asks Detroit to Use More Car Factories as Arms Factories [Gizmodo]
• Can sparkling water boost metabolism and help with weight loss? [Science Daily]
• TWiV 1313: Maybe they’re all dementia vaccines [Microbe TV]
Crypto News
NFA Live! Bitcoin in 2026 | Benjamin Cowen
• UK Sets Path to Crypto Regulation With FCA Consultation [Decrypt]
• Ex-Treasury chief warns of US bond crash, calls for contingency plan [Coin Telegraph]
• MiCA Decoded: Your Crypto White Paper Can’t Just Be a Gitbook or PDF [Bitcoin.com]
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Published at 6.00am on Friday, April 17, 2026
Author: Bobby Coggins
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